


The Princess of Pranks

by lindajenner



Series: The Aftermath of Hogwarts... and What Happpens next. [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Gender or Sex Swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 69,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25306807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lindajenner/pseuds/lindajenner
Summary: Who is Titania Grimmley?Why does the idea of her befriending Fred and George Weasley make her father laugh his ass off?Why does the idea of the three working together scar the whiskers off of McGonagall?And what's with all the feathers?
Relationships: Harry Potter/Fred Weasley, Lee Jordan/Luna Lovegood
Series: The Aftermath of Hogwarts... and What Happpens next. [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1555228
Comments: 252
Kudos: 457





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please remember this has the 'The Trial of Harry Potter' as its prolgue, the same as all the other stories in this series.  
> As a result of this, the first chapters only have small differences, just enough to point you in the direction I want you to go.

_“Thank you, Mr Potter.” He took the parchment the clerk was patiently holding. “The Wizengamot will confer and inform you of our decision.”_

_Fifteen minutes later Harry was holding his breath and Hermione’s hand. Would the five members of the Wizengamot agree to his requests? Would he get what wanted?_

_“The sitting members of the Wizengamot have reached a consensus…”_

Lucius Malfoy looked at Harry from his seat in the Wizengamot members’ benches. For the first time, Harry saw a Malfoy that was not pleased with his own actions.

“We regret that we are unable to meet all of your requests, Mr Potter.” He sighed. “A lot, certainly, but not all. As far as your requests in relation to Life in Exile? Point One. Your muggle identity and altering it are a minor issue. Nominating only one person to be aware of your muggle identity, we believe not to be a wise idea, however there are ways to lock that information away in a person’s mind that is only released upon your chosen information holder’s death. Point Two. Altering your appearance. Miss Granger’s suggestions are feasible, both of them. We do understand your reasoning and to a point, we agree with it. We don’t like it, but we do understand it. Point Three. We have conferred with St. Mungo's and the only option available to you is sterilisation, be it temporary, linked to your core binding or permanent. There are no other alternatives, I’m afraid. Point Four. Your finances. That’s a little more complex. Gringotts have informed us that the Potter Family Charter states that no more than ten percent of the gross estate value may be transferred to the muggle world, however that is still a respectable amount. But the Black Family Charter stipulates that no monies from any of the Black Estates may be transferred into muggle control. Your personal possessions? Professor Flitwick believes that he can cast a charm that will enable you to see and value a trunk, but have no curiosity or desire to open it, until or if the bindings are lifted. Point Five. You are an adult of legal age and as such have the right to disperse your assets where you choose. If you write a Will, we will see that it is apportioned as per your wishes.” He held out a fresh sheet of parchment. “Here are the agreed upon requests for the Exile option.”

Harry waited while the clerk fetched the parchment and handed it to Hermione.

“As for the Veil option? A wand. Mr Potter, a conviction under Mordred’s Law prohibits this Ministry from providing you a wand, at least until your sentence is complete.” Malfoy paused. “To clarify… If you were to select the Exile option and at some point, in the future, you were called upon to assist with a situation that required the bindings one your core being lifted, that would constitute the completion of your sentence.”

“Thank you for adding that, Mr Malfoy. That hadn’t been covered.” Kingsley commented.

“Understandable and I apologise for not mentioning it earlier. But we digress. A wand. We have to deny this request, not because we wish to, but because it is the law. Point Two. The mokeskin pouch. Yes, certainly we shall return it to you. Point Three. This is a grey area, if you choose the veil, you will no longer be a citizen of our world and the only legal equivalent is death, however, we do understand your hypothesis and can clearly state that you will not be entering the muggle world as we know it.”

“Understood.” Kingsley spoke and Harry and Hermione both nodded.

“Point Four. Battle robes. This court must provide you with clothing, but there’s no way we can approve dragonhide, it’s way over budget. Not to mention that Mordred’s Law specifically stipulates the items we can and must provide. Three pair of cotton canvas trousers, three cotton button-down shirts, three cotton undershirts, six pairs underpants, six pairs socks, one pair cow-leather shoes or boots, one wool knitted jumper/pullover, one change of sleepwear.”

“Damn.” Harry whispered.

“Point five. The trunk. While Miss Granger holds your complete trust, Mordred’s Law again inhibits us, in what can be provided to you. A trunk and its contents are not on that list, I’m afraid. The best we can do is to provide a muggle bag of Miss Granger’s choosing.”

“Double damn.” Harry muttered and fell back in his seat in re.

“However…” Malfoy held up a hand. “Having said all that… There is an even **_older_** law, one of the first that Merlin laid down, that basically states that no witch or wizard shall be denied the right to bear arms, nor shall they be dictated to, in what they wish to spend their own finances on.”

“We, who sit here, have determined that we should be abiding by this older law.” Lady Longbottom added. “As it supersedes Mordred’s Law, we are going to **_add_** this to your situation.”

“What this means for you, Mr Potter?” Malfoy began, “is that, while the Wizengamot cannot provide these items, we will not deny you from providing them for yourself.”

“The main concern we have at this point is… time.” Lady Longbottom sighed. “Under Mordred’s Law, sentences must be carried out immediately after a conviction is handed down. The longest we can delay is… twenty-four hours. Which means… Three-fifteen, tomorrow afternoon.”

“Mr Potter we would need to remand you to the DMLE holding cells until your sentence is to begin. We are bending a number of laws to allow visitors, but as you will not be permitted to leave the DMLE holding cells, there is no other way for you to procure the items you with to carry with you. However, you will be accompanied at all times by a senior Auror.” Malfoy straightened his shoulders.

“May I suggest that Gringotts be your first priority, knowing what you have in available funds, may change what you purchase or at least, the priority that you rank your purchases by.” Lady Longbottom offered.

Malfoy nodded his agreement. “So, it comes down to which sentence you would prefer. Have you reached a decision, Mr Potter, or would you like a few minutes to discuss the matter with your advisors?”

“I’d like five minutes to discuss it, sir.” Harry answered.

“Granted. Auror Shacklebolt may place a silencing ward around you and your advisors.” Malfoy nodded.

“Thank you, sir.” Harry nodded back.

Kingsley tossed up a privacy ward and Hermione instantly began to rant.

Until Kingsley silenced her.

“Thanks, Kingsley. Mione, shut up and listen. Logically, we knew we weren’t going to just walk away, too much has happened. This isn’t as good as you might have wanted but it’s better than I expected. Hell, I expected ‘go straight to Azkaban, do not pass GO, do not collect ʛ200’. This is better.”

“Better? How the hell do you figure that?” Kingsley demanded.

“Okay, Life in Exile might be hell on earth to you or other magicals, Kingsley, but not to me. Magic is cool, but I’ve had to live without it every summer, I can keep going if I have to. It might be different if I were older or been living in the magical world fulltime, able to do magic anytime I wanted, but that hasn’t been the case. Since August, Hermione, Ron and I have been on the run, we used magic rarely, we weren’t sure if the Ministry… under Voldy’s control… could track our magical signatures.”

“Only if their signature is on record. The closest is if someone splinches, we can use their signature to collect whatever parts they misplaced.” Croaker answered.

“Good to know.” Harry snorted.

“So, you’re not concerned about living in the muggle world permanently?” Kingsley asked.

“No, not really. But… That’s not the option I’m choosing.” Harry words made the three gasp, in shock.

“What?” Hermione overrode Kingsley’s silencing hex.

“Hermione, you read the same book, about the veil, that I did.” Harry chided.

“What am I missing, then?” She asked.

“Did you see the piece of parchment that was glued into the book’s rear cover?”

“Yes, it was just scribble, Harry, I think it was a child’s attempt at writing Cyrillic.”

“And **_I_** know it was parselscript. Anyway, it said that the Veil isn’t the Veil of Death, like the Ministry think, but rather that it’s the Veil of Judgement. If I step into the Veil, Lady Magic will judge me. If she finds my actions and motives immoral or unjust, I’ll be sent somewhere to pay for it, purgatory, if you like. If, however, she finds me deserving of it, I’ll go somewhere I can earn the right to live in peace.” Harry didn’t say that if Lady Magic found him righteous in his actions, he would merely be transported to a different place and his life recreated afresh. His core wiped clean of any taints, his magic fresh and new. A gift of Lady Magic, herself.

“Oh…” Hermione gasped.

“The wizarding world, as a whole, hasn’t been good to me, Mione, I can **_easily_** live without it. Magic? Not so easily. The only good things this world has given me, are my friends. Life in Exile means losing those friends. Same with the Veil. But with the Veil? At least with the Veil, I will still remember you. I’ll have my album, I’ll be able to see you, or pictures of you. Exile? With the memory charms, it’ll be like you never existed to me. I can’t, I **_won’t_** accept that.”

“So, you’re choosing the Veil?” Hermione whispered.

“I am.” He nodded.”

“Oh, Harry.” She whispered and a tear ran down her cheek.

“You need to be strong, Mione. Go get your parents back. Live, be happy. For me? Please?” Harry let his own tears fall. “Even if the Wizengamot cleared me, I wouldn’t be staying in the wizarding world, I can’t, not after the way they’ve treated me for the last seven years. I can’t.”

“What if another Dark Lord comes?” Hermione pleaded.

“I risked my life for them every year, Hermione, and not once did anyone other than you or the Weasley’s ever say thanks, not one person. I died for them and do your really think any of them are going to say thanks? Maybe, but if another Dark Lord came, they’ll expect me to die for them again. No, once was enough. **_More_** than enough. It’s time I lived for me, not the wizarding world.” Harry begged his friend to understand.

“I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it. Alright. What can I do to help?”

“Help me get my stuff together and put up a trunk?”

“You got it.”

“Thanks. Kingsley, I’m ready.” Harry nodded towards Malfoy and the other members of the Wizengamot.

Kingsley didn’t say anything, he just flicked his wand and let his privacy wards fall.

“I’ve made my choice, Mr Malfoy.” Harry said, once he had the wizard’s attention.

“And which sentence have you decided upon, Mr Potter?” The blonde wizard asked.

“I choose the veil.”


	2. Chapter 2

_“I’ve made my choice, Mr Malfoy.” Harry said, once he had the wizard’s attention._

_“And which sentence have you decided upon, Mr Potter?” The blonde wizard asked._

_“I choose the veil.”_

Harry opened his eyes and frowned. **_That..._** looked suspiciously like the ceiling, viewed from his usual bed in Hogwarts’ hospital wing. He rolled his head to his right and sure enough, the rest of the hospital entered his line of sight. A few blinks and Harry sighed, reaching out to pick up the wand on the bedside table.

He held it up to his face.

“Not possible.” He muttered. “Nagini…” His mind was filled with memories. “Aw, crap…” He laid the holly and phoenix feather wand on the bed beside his hip and reached under his pyjamas. “Yes. Oh, thank Merlin.” He whispered and pulled his mokeskin pouch out where he could see it, before pausing, something tickling at the edges of his mind. Picking up the wand, he cast a simple charm. _“Tempus et locus.”_ Letters and numbers began to form in front of his eyes.

_11.19pm_

_6 June 1994._

_Bed 3, Main ward._

_Hospital Wing,_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,_

_Hogsmeade, Scotland._

June 1994? What happened in June 1994? It took Harry a few moments to remember. He’d shut so much about Sirius into the back of his mind, that it literally took his breath away to remember that this was the night that they first really met, that Sirius was still alive.

“Still alive…?” He frowned blinking. “Time travel?” A few more seconds and the something that tickled at his mind, smacked him in the face. “Oh, shit.”

He sat up and looked at the two other people in the room. Both sound asleep, in beds one on each side of him. Ron and Hermione.

But not his Ron and Hermione.

 ** _His_** Ron hadn’t started to grow until halfway through fourth year. **_This_** Ron was already the length of the hospital bed.

 ** _His_** Ron had fiery red hair and freckles. **_This_** Ron had the same dark ginger-almost-auburn hair that Percy had.

 ** _His_** Ron snored like a freight train. **_This_** Ron was making tiny little whiffling sounds in his sleep.

 ** _This_** Ron was not _**his**_ Ron.

He turned to look at Hermione.

Nope. Not his Hermione, either.

 ** _His_** Hermione had bushy brown hair. **_This_** Hermione had sleek dark locks, not that much lighter than what he thought his own should be.

 ** _His_** Hermione had buck teeth until the middle of fourth year. **_This_** Hermione was asleep with her mouth open enough for Harry to see her perfectly sized teeth.

 ** _His_** Hermione muttered in her sleep. **_This_** Hermione was silent.

This was not _**his**_ Hermione.

That meant that he was not **_their_** Harry, either.

Voices at the hospital wing’s doors caught his attention. He rose from the bed and slipped over to the door, casting a quiet eavesdropping charm to hear better.

“No, Sybil, I can’t.” That was Snape. Snape was alive. Harry blinked, this was going to take some getting used to.

“Why not? He should have died tonight. They both should have died. They were to be Kissed. I set everything up, the timing was perfect, the brat should have died. Why the hell did you have to get involved?” That was…? Was that **_Trelawney_**? It sure sounded like her but…? Who was the brat she was talking about? Him?

“There was a Life Debt between his father and I, it passed to him, unresolved. And Dumbledore made me give a Vow that I would do all I could to protect him.” Snape muttered.

Yep, she was talking about him. Why?

“Blasted Dumbledore.” Trelawney swore. “Why on Earth would he make you do that? He knows how much you hated James.” The last word was spat out.

“Because Potter is our only hope at defeating the Dark Lord, Sybil.” Snape said impatiently.

“You really believe that?” she asked.

“Put it this way… Would **_you_** bet against someone with Lily’s brains and temper and Potter’s stubbornness and unpredictability? Not to mention either of their magical strength?” Snape said sarcastically.

“Oh.”

“Yes. Oh.” Snape snorted.

“I still want him dead.”

“I can’t help you, not if I want to live. And I do.” Snape growled.

“You’ll do what I say, or I’ll sent those pictures to the Aurors.” Trelawney snarled.

“Do what you will, just don’t do it where I can stop you or I’ll have to.” Snape snarled back and the two began to walk away.

Harry leant against the door, his mind racing. Snape was betting on Harry killing Voldemort. Again. But this wasn’t his Snape or his Voldemort and he wasn’t their Harry.

So… why did he have to do it, again?

Did he **_have_** to do it, again?

Did he **_want_** to do it, again?

No, he didn’t.

But… how to get out of it? Dumbledore already knows about the horcruxes, he’d known since the moment he’d seen Harry’s forehead, all those years ago. And then Harry had given him the diary in second year. That meant that Dumbledore was already planning on Harry being the one to deal with anything Voldemort-related that popped up, from now on. And he would expect Harry to sacrifice himself for his friends, just like Harry’s mother had sacrificed herself for Harry.

“No, not happening. I’ve done that once, not doing it again.” Harry moaned. “How the hell do I get out this?” He knocked his head against the door a few times. “I need to think like a marauder.” He sat up in a hurry. “No… I need to talk _**to**_ a marauder… and guess what? There’s one flying away from the castle, right now.” His mischievous grin would have had Ron swearing, Hermione whimpering and McGonagall shaking her head in dismay, had any of them seen it.

He rose to his feet and using the holly/phoenix feather wand, cast a privacy charm between himself and the only two people still in the room.

“Dobby?” He called quietly.

An almost silent pop had the hyperactive house-elf appearing beside him.

“Mr Harry Potter, sir. How can Dobby be's helping Harry Potter,?”

“Can you get me out of the hospital without setting off Madam Pomfrey’s wards?”

Dobby tilted his head and looked at the nearest wall, before nodding quickly.

“Dobby can.”

“Good take me to the Room of Requirement, please.”

Dobby hung his head. “Dobby can’t.”

“Can you take me to the seventh floor? Outside the Room?”

Dobby nodded energetically. “Dobby can. Dobby will.” The elf held out a hand and Harry put his in it. A twisting, gut-wrenching feeling latter and Harry was facing a familiar tapestry. Trolls in tutus.

“Thanks, Dobby. Can you hang around? I need some help and maybe some errands ran.” Harry smiled at the elf.

“Dobby can.”

“Excellent. Give me a minute.” Harry turned to face the bare expanse of wall that he knew housed the Room of Requirement. “I need a space to plan, I need a space to plan, I need a space to plan.” He muttered and paced back and forth, sighing in relief when a door melted into being in front of him. He stepped forward and opened the door. “Come on in, Dobby.” And the two entered the Room. “Give me another minute.” He held up a hand when Dobby opened his mouth to speak.

The elf nodded and closed his mouth, settling back a few steps.

“Thanks, Dobby.” Harry gave him a grin and took a deep breath. “ _Expecto patronum_.” The huge stag exploded from his wand and, after a sweeping glance around the room, turned to Harry. “I need you to take a message to Sirius Black.” The stag nodded and opened its mouth in preparation to absorb the message. “Sirius. I need you to land the hippogriff, right now. We have a problem.” Harry nodded and the stag closed its mouth. “Thanks.” The stag nodded and vanished into the nearest wall and Harry turned face Dobby.

“As soon as Sirius and Buckbeak land, I need you to go to him. Can you bring him here?”

“Dobby cannot. Dobby cannot bring anyone through the Hogwarts wards. Dobby can only move someone inside of them or outside of them, but not through them.” The elf shook his head.

“Bugger. Can you feel Sirius? Where he is?”

“Dobby can. Harry Potter’s dogfather is standing beside the birdie-horse in a forest.” Dobby said.

“Good. When I send the next Patronus, I want you to go to him, hopefully he will give you a task. To retrieve a pair of communication mirrors.” Harr said.

“Why cannot Harry Potter send Dobby?” The elf asked.

“I don’t know where the mirrors are, only that they exist. Sirius knows, he made them.” Harry answered.

Dobby just nodded.

“ _Expecto patronum_.” Harry paused until the stag stood in front of him. “I want you to take a message to Sirius Black.” The stag nodded and opened its mouth. “The elf is Dobby, you can trust him. Send him to get the mirrors, Siri. We need to talk face to face and right now? The mirrors are the closest we can get. Please?” Harry nodded and the stag left. “Go to Sirius, Dobby.”

The next few minutes seemed endless to Harry. This had to work, it just **_had_** to.

Eventually, Dobby reappeared and in his skinny little hands there was a simple rectangular mirror.

“Harry Potter’s dogfather sends this to Harry Potter.” The elf handed Harry the mirror.

“Thank you, Dobby. Could you get me something to eat? Some sandwiches and maybe a jug of juice?” Harry clasped the mirror to his chest.

“Dobby will.” The little elf beamed and popped away.

Harry took a deep breath and held the mirror in front of himself. “Sirius Black.” The mirror’s surface went from Harry’s image to that of a dirty scruffy man, in dire need of a bath and a shave.

“Harry?”

“Sirius…” Harry was nearly in tears.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” Sirius was alarmed at Harry’s expression.

“I…” Harry took a calming breath. “I need you to sit down, Sirius, I need to tell you a story and you need to let me finish, before you say anything. Can you do that? Please?” Harry begged.

“I don’t know, pup. I can try, but I don’t know if I’ll succeed.”

“Try, please try. I need your help and if you can’t listen, you can’t help.”

Sirius titled his head and nodded. “Go ahead.” He said slowly, clearly focusing on Harry.

“Today is the 6th of June 1994. Hermione and I rescued you from a tower, she blasted the door open and we flew from there to the Clocktower’s courtyard. Right?” Harry asked.

“Yes, but that was only a few hours ago, Harry.” Sirius frowned.

“It might have been for you, but for me that was nearly four years ago. I-”

“Harry, stop.” Sirius threw his head back and swore. “Bloody **_bollocks!_** ”

“Sirius?”

“You remember the fight in the Ministry?” Sirius asked and Harry heart nearly burst from his chest.

“You remember?” Harry gasped. “You remember Bellatrix and the veil?”

Sirius nodded. “I do.”

“What was the last thing you said to me?” Harry demanded in a hard tone, completely at odds with his young face.

“You’ve done beautifully… now let me take it from here.” Sirius obediently replied.

“Oh, shit…” Harry whispered. “You really do remember.”

“I do. Now, tell me, what happened after that? How did you get here? Tell me everything.”

“Well, after you… I ran after Bellatrix, I wanted to… I wanted to hurt her as much as she’d hurt me. I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I tried and failed. Which, looking back, isn’t such a bad thing. I chased her up into the atrium and…” for twenty long minutes Harry told his godfather everything that had happened between the 18th June 1996 and the 3rd of May 1998. “… and I stepped into the veil.” Harry said.

“Oh, pup…” Sirius whispered.

“But that’s not all.”

“Not all? How? What else is there?” Sirius demanded.

“I woke in the hospital wing, in my usual bed, Hermione to one side of me and Ron to the other. But…?”

“But…?”

“They’re not my Ron and Hermione.”

“What do you mean?”

“My Ron didn’t start to grow until he was nearly fifteen, his first growth spurt was over Christmas in fourth year, remember? He ate everything in sight. And this Ron is tall, as tall as the hospital beds are long. And he has darker hair, more the colour of Percy’s. And Hermione? My Hermione had wild bushy hair and big buck teeth until fourth year, the Hermione here has neat sleek curls and perfect sized teeth.” Harry explained.

“O-kaayy…” Sirius dragged the word out to last quite a few seconds. “So, why didn’t you go straight to Dumbledore? And tell him, I mean?”

“Dumbledore…” Harry hesitated, the Headmaster’s betrayal was still so fresh in his mind. “Dumbledore… he knew about the horcruxes… the night mum and dad were killed… he knew the moment he saw me. He… I watched Snape’s memories, I saw the conversation with Dumbledore. Snape may have hated me, but he was gutted when he figured out that Dumbledore was basically… in Snape’s own words… ‘raising me like a pig for slaughter’. I was to die at Voldemort's wand. I was a Horcrux.”

Sirius’ eyes went wide and an ugly flush settled on his face. “Dumbledore knew?” His voice was strained.

“He knew, he expected me to die.” Harry whispered.

“Dumbledore knew.” This time it wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” Harry answered, anyway.

“Dumbledore knew and did nothing.”

“Nothing at all.” Harry nodded.

“What about all the training he said you were getting?”

“No. The only training I got that I didn’t teach myself, was from Snape and that sucked. He kept attacking me, mentally, under the guise of occlumency lessons.” Harry shook his head.

“Nothing? Nothing at all?” Sirius didn’t know whether to be angry or horrified.

“Not a thing. The closest I got was ‘private lessons’ with Dumbledore, which was really just pensieve trips into Voldemort's past.”

“Urgh… Gross…” Sirius screwed up his face.

“Very.” Harry nodded. “And while this Dumbledore might not be our Dumbledore, can we really afford to take that chance. This is my life and I don't want to go through that, again.”

Sirius took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. “Alright. What’s the plan?”

“I need to get out of here, out of Dumbledore’s control, but it has to be done in such a way that no-one will ever find me.” Harry shrugged. “How? I don’t know. That’s why I need you. You’re a marauder and that’s my best hope right now.”

“Hmm…” Sirius hung the mirror on a broken branch and began to pace, in the distance behind him, Harry could see Buckbeak settling down for a nap.

Seconds passed and became minutes, almost an hour passed before Sirius turned to face Harry.

“What lengths are you prepared to go to?” The escapee asked.

“Depends on the plan. How likely is it to fail?”

“From my end? Zero percent likely. Your end is going to be the hard bit. That depends on how much help you can get from that special room of yours.” Sirius warned.

“Well that depends, if it can be done inside the room, I can get pretty much anything. Taking things out is the problem.” Harry remembered telling Sirius and Remus about the room and what it provided for the D.A.

“Good. My plan is…” Sirius rolled his eyes and his head in one motion. “… Extreme, is the politest description.”

“Tell me.”

“It comes down to what you need.” Sirius began. “You need an authentic ID, something that is not Harry Potter.”

Harry raised both eyebrows. “Magically changing my name won’t work, Siri. Dumbledore has my blood in his little gadgets. They track my health and general location.”

“Yeah, I remembered, but I wasn’t thinking magical name change. I was thinking either a blood adoption or a blood conversion. Both change your blood and will render his gadgets useless.”

“I’m not familiar with either of them.” Harry frowned.

“A blood adoption adds a new parent for each person adopting you. But you will still be the son of James and Lily. Got it?” Sirius waited until Harry nodded before continuing. “But a blood conversion overrides your existing family and you end up with new parents.” He grimaced. “There’s upsides and downsides to both.”

“For the blood adoption?” Harry asked.

“You’d gain another parent or two, but you’d still be James and Lily’s son and would be Harry Potter-something-else. Not really our best bet.” Sirius allowed.

“And for the conversion?”

“You get a whole new family, including new parents, but you’d lose any legal or magical connection to James and Lily.” Sirius said it blandly, with no inflection in his voice.

“And you think that’s the best option?” Harry blinked in surprise.

“Partially.” Sirius grimaced again. “The biggest problem I can see is actually the prophecy’s Boy-Who-Lived crap.”

“Yeah, I don’t like that.”

“Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of options there. You either put up with it or…”

“…or…?” Harry squinted at Sirius.


	3. Chapter 3

_“Partially.” Sirius grimaced again. “The biggest problem I can see is actually the prophecy’s Boy-Who-Lived crap.”_

_“Yeah, I don’t like that.”_

_“Unfortunately, you don’t have a lot of options there. You either put up with it or…”_

_“…or…?” Harry squinted at Sirius._

“…or you become a girl. Look.” He held up a hand. “The prophecy clearly states ‘he’. If you were a girl, it automatically negates the prophecy. No more Boy-Who-Lived.”

“A girl?” Harry yelped. “You want me to… _**what**_ exactly?”

“I’m not saying I _**want**_ you to do anything, pup, but it **_is_** an option.” Sirius held his hands out. “Just **_one_** option. The new name thing is far more important, though.”

“Yeah, it is. If I went for the conversion thing, why can’t you? You could be my father?”

“Problem is, pup... Dumbledore’s going to have the Aurors looking for a father and son, the minute that he realises that you’re gone.” Sirius said and Harry’s mind instantly thought ‘ _he won’t be looking for a father and daughter, though’_. “Maybe if we changed our ages…?” Sirius muttered to himself. “…or had access to a time turner…”

Harry snorted. “I can get one of them.”

“One of what?” Sirius jerked his head up.

“Time turner.” Harry smirked.

“You can get your hands on a **_time turner_**? You’re not joking? Really?” Sirius’ jaw dropped in shock.

Harry laughed. “Hermione’s got one, she’s been taking every class she can and using it all year. McGonagall got it for her.”

“How far does it got back?”

“I dunno. Eight to twelve hours, I suppose.” Harry shrugged.

“Nope, not good enough. We’d need to go back weeks, months preferably. Bugger. Unless that Room of yours can make one?”

“Oh, sure it can, but I can’t take it out of the Room…” Harry paused. “Unless…” he hummed in thought. “Unless there’s one already in the lost and found Room.”

“Lost and found Room?” Sirius asked.

“One aspect of the Room is a massive junk room, every item that’s lost, found by the elves or thrown away, here at the school goes in there.” Harry answered.

“And how can you find out?”

“I’d have to change Rooms and that means, I’d have to leave the Room while it reconfigures itself.”

“How long does that take?”

“Thirty seconds to a minute, or thereabouts.” Harry shrugged.

“Great, do that and then we can hash out a few more ideas.” Sirius ordered. “Oh, I don’t suppose there’s any wands there?”

“Not up here, but there’s a lost wand room on the third floor, just opposite the DADA classroom. We can raid that later, if we're doing conversions, what fits now, might not later.” Harry replied as he left the Room. “You gotta be quiet while I ask the Room for a different configuration.” He warned. “I need the Room of lost things, I need the Room of lost things, I need the Room of lost things.” Once the door appeared, he wandered in, closely by Dobby, who was levitating a tray of sandwiches and a pitcher of liquid. “Find a table and put that stuff down, Dobby.” The elf nodded and proceeded to do that. “Great, thanks. Can you take half of this to Sirius… oh and a couple of dead ferrets for Buckbeak?”

“Dobby can. Dobby will.” Dobby nodded energetically and popped away, only to appear at Sirius’ side with a plate of sandwiches and another pitcher, in the background, Harry could see Buckbeak snatch up a ferret from a pile of furry things that appeared beside the hippogriff.

“Find the time turners, pup.” Sirius’ voice said from the mirror in Harry’s hand. “Ooh, you're’s good, Dobby. I **_do_** like chicken sandwiches.” Dobby blushed bright red and popped back to Harry’s side.

“Dobby is the best, Siri, the absolute _**best**_.” Harry was so proud of the little elf and rested his hand on a skinny shoulder. “Gimme a second.” He closed his eyes and concentrated before opening them and speaking. “Accio time turners.”

Three chains with their delicate hourglasses flew towards him, as did a pair of boxes, one larger than the other. Dobby held out a hand and the flying items came to a halt in front of them. Harry, let all five items settle to the floor in front of him before he opened the two boxes and Accio-ed out the time turners that he knew were in them.

“How do I work out how far they’ll turn?” He asked Sirius.

“Gold go back hours. Gold with platinum etchings, go back days. Platinum go back weeks. Platinum with gold etchings and a diamond hourglass, go back months.” Sirius answered.

“Months are the furthest back we can go?”

“Yeah. But we can use multiple turners. Turn back the months on a diamond turner, the weeks on a platinum turner, then the days on a gold and platinum one.”

“How far could we go back?” A brief thought of saving his parents entered his mind.

“Ninety-nine months, ninety-nine weeks and ninety-nine days would makes it…” Dobby’s was the one to answer. “The fifth of January 1984.”

Harry sighed. “No saving mum and dad…”

“No, pup, that was never going to happen. First rule of time turners, you can’t change something that you know has already happened. Otherwise, I would have done that instead of going after the rat.” Sirius shook his head.

“Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time…” Harry repeated Hermione’s warning.

“Exactly.” Sirius nodded. “ ** _We_** won’t be meddling, not really.”

“Right, gimme a minute to check…” Harry carefully separated the time turners into their different types. “Right, we’ve one monthly, one daily and three hourly. No weekly turners.” Harry turned to Dobby. “If we used the monthly and the daily turners, how far back can we go?”

“Ninety-nine months and ninety-nine days is… 27th of November 1985.” Dobby obediently answered.

“Is that far enough for you, Siri?” Harry asked.

“I can work with that. We’d need to de-age both of us a bit, too.”

“What if we didn’t turn all the way?” Harry asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What if we picked a later date and only went back that far?”

“Oh, I see… Yeah, that’d work better, instead of just going the maximum, we could _**plan**_ when we end up.” Sirius nodded. “And add in a blood conversion? Yeah, that would work well.”

“But would I still look like me?” Harry wanted to know. _‘If I was a girl, it wouldn’t matter.’_ He thought and shook his head to get rid of the idea.

“You might. Kinda depends on the conversion. If your new parents resembled James and Lily, then there’s a good chance you’d look similar.”

“Enough to be recognised?” _‘I wouldn’t be, if I was a girl.’_ He refused to think any further on the subject.

“Maybe, but we should be able to make a few changes.”

“Can we run a few simulations?” Harry asked.

“Simulations?” Sirius asked. “How?”

“Get the Room to predict the changes and show us an image.” Harry replied.

“Ooh, pup. That would be… yeah, let’s do that.” Sirius nodded quickly. “What do we need do?”

“First… Will you be my father?” Harry asked shyly, ducking his head.

“I’m already your godfather, of course I’ll be you father, you shouldn’t have to ask, kiddo.” Sirius huffed.

“Then we need to find new parents for you.” Something occurred to Harry. “Hey, you can get rid of the Blacks.”

“Hmm… I’d need to empty my vault first, I’m not letting the Ministry or Narcissa get their hands on my gold.”

“Got your key?”

Sirius shook his head. “Not on me, no.”

“Can you send Dobby to get it?” Harry asked. “If he had your key, he could empty the vault. Oh, and mine, too.”

“That’s a lot of money, pup.” Sirius warned.

Harry smirked. “It is. Plus, I have most of the Potter money from our world and half the Black money, too.”

“Half?”

“I left half of it for Moony and Tonks’ son, Teddy.” Harry shrugged.

“Ah, right, good.” Sirius didn’t want to think about a dead Remus, it made his heart hurt. “My key’s in the shack, I always kept it there when I had multi-day shifts. Dobby? If you take me there, I’ll get it and a bottomless pouch to put everything in.”

Dobby looked to Harry. “Harry Potter?”

“Do you know where my key is?”

“Yes, Harry Potter.”

“Dobby? Just call me Harry. Please?”

Dobby looked doubtful, but slowly he nodded. “Dobby can. Dobby will.”

“Thank you. Can you get my key?”

“Dobby can. Should Dobby go now?”

“Yes, please. Once you get my key, go to Sirius and take him to the shack and back to Buckbeak, then you can go to Gringotts. At Gringotts, empty my vault, all except a handful of knuts.”

“And Harry’s family vault?” Dobby asked.

“Sirius?”

“No, I’d leave that alone. Accessing it would require a goblin presence.”

“I had a goblin take me to my vault each time I’ve been there.” Harry said.

“Yes, you would have to have a goblin escort, all wizards do, but elves don’t, family vaults are the exception.” Sirius explained. “As long as they have a key and the vault owner’s authority, they can get through the wards on the private vaults, it’s all about intent.”

“Oh, okay, then.” Harry turned back to Dobby. “Sirius knows more about Gringotts than I do, listen to him, he’ll tell you what you need to do. Okay?”

“Yes, Harry.” Dobby nodded and popped away. He very shortly appeared at Sirius’ side and a quick conversation was held before Dobby took Sirius’ hand and popped the two of them away. Seconds later they reappeared and Dobby nodded to Sirius and disappeared again.

“I do like your elf, kiddo.”

“He’s not mine, Siri, he’s a free elf. He’s my friend.” Harry argued.

“Whatever you say, kid.” Sirius snorted.

“Sirius…”

“Okay, enough with the jokes, we have work to do.” Sirius took a deep breath. “Where do we start?”

“With you. If you’re going to be my father, you need to do the conversion, too. That means that you need to pick new parents.” Harry said.

“Well, for me that’s kind of easy. I already have a fake muggle identity, Nigel P Grimm. James and I set them up while we were in Auror training. We had to make up a set for Auror work and we decided that we should also have a set each that were off-record.”

“Okay, so we can flesh that out or alter it to suit. How?” Harry asked.

“I’d need to create a paper trail that your Room can set in place in the muggle world and convert into a magical one in the magical world.”

“Okay… and…How do we do that?”

“Can you ask the Room for a copy of the Black family tapestry, please? I’ve had a thought…” Harry frowned but did as Sirius asked and shortly a long dark green tapestry unfurled along one wall. “Thanks. Now, can you walk along it, with the mirror facing it, until I say stop?” Harry huffed, but turned the mirror to face the tapestry and began to walk. He took five paces before Sirius spoke. “Stop. Excellent. I need the tapestry to include Marius Black and his descendants.”

“Who’s Marius Black?”

“My grandfather’s cousin, he was disowned supposedly for being a squib, but he wasn’t actually a squib, he just hated the family and wanted to get away from them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, my grandfather told me, he was the heir when it happened and it was he that pushed for it, at Marius’ request. There was a marriage contract, it was with a second cousin, but there was rumour in the family that she wasn’t actually Marius’ cousin but his half-sister. And yeah… it was pretty messed up and he wanted out. Grandfather helped him. Emptied his trust vault and set him up in the muggle world, changed his name and even got him magical tutors. It’s where I got the idea for Nigel Grimm. Marius and grandfather changed Marius’s name to Grimmley.”

“Do you think he’d help?” Harry asked.

“He’s dead, has been for years, but if your Room can help, we don’t actually need him.”

“Okay.” Harry focused on Marius’ name on the tapestry and slowly more names began to appear.

“Oh, that’s good…” Sirius sounded impressed. “Oh, yes, we can use that. Harry ask for Jessica Stebbing’s tree, just three generations will do.” A second tapestry formed and names bled into being. “Excellent, excellent. Now all we need is to work out a mother for you.”

“And a way to get the conversion potions to you.” Harry added.

“Ah, yeah, forgot that.” Sirius grimaced. “What if I broke into a wizarding house and used the floo? Could your Room make a floo that connects to the network?”

“Ooh, I’ve a better idea.” Harry gave Sirius a slightly manic look and spun to face the piles of junk in the Room. “Accio tents or trunks with a fireplace.”

“Harry?”

“If there’s one here, Dobby can take it to you and I can ‘Require’ the Room to connect to it, you can come through that, it’ll bypass all Hogwarts’ wards, Dumbledore won’t know you’re here and I can leave with you the same way, once we’re done. No-one needs to know anything.” Harry grinned and watched as three tents and a half dozen trunks floated to the floor in front of him.

“Nice, pup, nice.” Sirius nodded approvingly.

“So, you’re going to use Marius as your father?”

“Grandfather. Look, see, he changed his name from Marius Black to Matthew Grimmley. Married Jessica Stebbing and they had one son, Patrick, who never married or had children, but he's the right age to be my father and all three of them are dead.” Sirius explained. “Now we need to find you a mother. We need someone that is dead, but preferably someone that went to Hogwarts. Home-schooling is fine, but we need invisibility and having both parents home-schooled is going to attract attention, when they begin to search for Harry.”

‘ _Not if I were a girl.’_ Harry thought before gasping. “Not if I were already a student at Hogwarts.”

“What do you mean?” Sirius frowned.

“Think about it. We’re going to change my name, change my appearance, change my age **_and_** use a time turner to go backwards in time. Right?” When Sirius nodded, Harry went on. “What if I re-entered Hogwarts and was already here, as the new me, before today? Wouldn’t that make it less likely that anyone would think that I’m Harry?”

“Oh, I get it… Hide in sight.” Sirius nodded. “Yeah, that would work. But we still need a mother for you, someone that’s also dead. And it would help if I knew something about her.”

Harry pursed his lips and squinted at the wall. The Black family tapestry faded away and a smaller tapestry began to form. It held the details of Marius Black, his wife and son. Alongside this a window formed, with a multitude of small panes of glass.

“If she came to Hogwarts, does it matter if she’s a muggleborn or muggle raised?” Harry asked.

“No, probably a good idea if she were, but she needs to have no living parents or siblings.” Sirius said.

Harry nodded and set his mind to focus on those conditions. Muggleborn or muggle raised, that went to Hogwarts while Sirius was in his fifth, sixth or seventh year. The small panes of glass that made up the window began to fill, images fading into being. One of them was that of Lily Evans.

“Well done, Harry.” Sirius grinned. Harry smiled back. As time progressed, images brightened and faded until only six were left. “What criteria did you use?”

“Muggleborn or muggle raised, that went to Hogwarts while you were in fifth, sixth or seventh year. Then dead. With dead parents. No siblings. No children.” Harry answered. “That’s why it started with so many and ended up with just these few. They’re the only ones that match all the criteria.”

“Great, put their details with them, please.”

“I’m going to drop out mum and the other redhead, Siri. I think that’s just too much of a risk.” Harry screwed up his nose.

“Yeah, I agree, plus I remember her, her name was Gwendolyn Chambers and she insisted on being called Wenny.”

“No, not doing that.” Harry shook his head.

“Nope. My choice, pup?” Sirius asked. “I’d go with the fourth girl. Lauren Grant, she was sitting her OWLs the year we graduated. Lily tutored her in history of magic, Moony helped her in runes but she was gifted in DADA.” Sirius snorted. “Just like you are.”

“She’s going to be your wife, Siri.” Harry laughed and Lauren’s name and her family details joined Marius’ on the tapestry.

“Alright. How do we do a simulation?”


	4. Chapter 4

_“Nope. My choice, pup?” Sirius asked. “I’d go with the fourth girl. Lauren Grant, she was sitting her OWLs the year we graduated. Lily tutored her in history of magic, Moony helped her in runes but she was gifted in DADA.” Sirius snorted. “Just like you are.”_

_“She’s going to be your wife, Siri.” Harry laughed and Lauren’s name and her family details joined Marius’ on the tapestry._

_“Alright. How do we do a simulation?”_

“I think I-” Harry paused as Dobby reappeared. “Hey, Dobby. How did you go? Any trouble?”

“Dobby had no trouble, Harry Pott-” The elf cut himself off and bashfully smiled at Harry. “Dobby got Harry’s gold and Harry’s dogfather’s gold. The goblins took no notice.” Dobby said.

“Great. Do you need a rest? Or can you keep working?” Harry knelt down to look the elf in the eye. “I need you, Dobby, but I need you to be able to do things, if you need a rest first, tell me. Okay?”

“Dobby will. Dobby is good to work.” The elf assured him.

“Alright, but you tell me if you need a break or something to eat. Okay?”

“Yes, Harry.” The elf nodded.

“Okay. Can you look through those tents and trunks and see if you can find a floo-fireplace that’s in working order?” Harry asked.

“Dobby can.” The elf said and diving into the nearest trunk enthusiastically.

“I do like that elf, kiddo. Please tell me we’re going to keep him?” Sirius laughed.

“I’m thinking about it.” Harry grinned back. “I owe him so much. He saved us, he **_died_** for us.”

“Not this time.” Sirius smiled, then froze and frowned. “What are we going to do about Voldemort?”

“I’m going to have the Room destroy his horcruxes, before we do the conversion and then we only have the one in my scar to worry about.” Harry answered. “No anchors to hold his wraith, bye-bye Voldy.” He smirked.

Sirius blinked in surprise. “O-kay… Whatever you say.” He shook his head. “Back to the simulations. You started to say something?”

“Yeah. I think I might have a way to show what we’ll look like.”

“Yeah…?”

“Yeah. Gimme a chance, okay?” Harry took a deep breath. “I want an image of Sirius Orion Black as he stands right now.” A new window appeared and it quickly filled with a lifelike image of Sirius in his raggedy robes. “Alter the image to show what he would look like if he were to undergo blood conversions to be the son of Patrick Matthew Grimmley and Sarah Anne Lewis.” The image morphed from a clear image of Sirius to that of a tired man that was clearly not Sirius Black but **_was_** related to him. “Show how he would look in perfect health.” The image blurred slightly as the man’s face and skin become clearer, his eyes brighter and his body filled out.

“Well… How about that?” Sirius blinked. “Weren’t we going to go with de-aging, too?”

“Show approximate age of thirty.” Harry said and the image changed to match.

“Yeah, that’s pretty good.” Sirius nodded. “I like that, close but not too close. Let’s keep that.”

“Okay.” Harry nodded. “Hold that image.” Another deep breath. “Show an image of Harry James Potter.” Yet another window appeared and an image of Harry filled it. “Copy this image four times and show in four separate windows.”

“Pup?”

“We’ll be able to see what changes work best and in what order.” Harry answered Sirius’ unasked question.

“Right.” Sirius nodded.

Dobby emerged from the last tent. “Harry Potter? One tent has a floo-fireplace. Two trunks have fireplaces linked only to each other. One other trunk has a floo-fireplace.”

“Brilliant. Can you take the tent and one of the linked trunks to Sirius, please? And set the other up, so that he can come through it?” Harry grinned.

“Dobby will.” The elf snapped his fingers and the tent packed itself up, one trunk settle beside the packed tent, while the other turned on its end and opened ready for use. He picked up the packaged tent and took hold of the handle of the trunk beside it, and popped away. A bare second later, Harry saw him appear beside Sirius, he put the trunk down and threw the tent out snapping his fingers before it touched the ground. The tent unpacked and erected itself in one motion, and Dobby pointed at the trunk and it floated into the tent.

“Harry’s dogfather can come in. Harry’s dogfather can use the linked fireplace in the trunk to go to the other trunk, which is with Harry at Hogwarts.” Dobby said.

“Excellent work, Dobby. Can you show me?” Sirius beamed at the elf.

“Dobby will. Harry’s dogfather will follow Dobby.”

The view in Harry’s mirror changed to the interior of an empty tent then to plain creamy-white walls, which Harry guessed was the interior of one of the trunks. Then the view was distorted by swirls, followed by more creamy-white walls and lastly by a familiar stone wall.

“Sirius!” Harry cried and spun around to face his godfather. The two looked at each other for a heartbeat and then they were in each other arms. Both cried with relief, tears running down their faces.

Time passed before Harry’s nose twitched. “Siri? You stink...”

“Gee, thanks, pup. Great to see you, too.” Sirius replied sarcastically.

“Oh, get over it. I love you but right now, my nose doesn’t want to get near you.” Harry whined the second sentence.

Another heartbeat and the two were laughing.

“Oh, gods. I have missed you, Siri. No-one really gets my sense of humour. Fred and George did… kind of…” Harry held his ribs.

“Well, you are one of a kind, pup.” Sirius grinned. “James was ever so glad of that, when you turned him purple on your first birthday.”

“Now, see? These are the things that no-one told me. You didn’t get the chance and everyone else just assumed I knew.” Harry huffed.

“Well, if you can find us a pensieve in all this stuff, I have years of memories to show you.” Sirius grinned.

“Dobby? Can you see if there’s a pensieve in here?” Harry waved his hand a circle, pointing in a general loop around the Room.

“Dobby is not sure, but if there’s a peni-sieve in here, Dobby will finds it.” The elf nodded firmly and disappeared into the piles.

“I do like that elf.” Sirius laughed.

“He’s one of a kind, that’s for sure.” Harry’s laugh joined him.

“We’re running out of night, here, Harry. Let’s get a move on.” Sirius ordered.

“You got it.” Harry dragged himself to his feet and over to stand in front of the windows with their images of Harry and the altered Sirius. He ignored the first image of himself and laid his hand against the second frame. “Alter the image to show what this person would look like it he took a blood conversion with the altered Sirius Black as his father and Lauren Grant as his mother.” The image blurred and reformed.

“Not bad, still a bit close, but if we were to lighten your hair to be more like Lauren’s?”

Harry moved to the next frame. “Copy changes from the last image.” The image blurred and refocused to be the same as the second image. “Lighten the hair to match Lauren Grant’s.” The changes happened and Harry stepped back beside Sirius. “Well?”

“Yeah, that’ much better. Now the de-aging?”

“Alter age to… nine years old.” Harry touched the last image and grimaced as the image became younger.

“Yeah, that’s pretty good. No-one would think he’s Harry Potter.” Sirius nodded.

Harry walked back to the first image of himself. “Alter this image to match the last image’s changes and add a gender swap to female.”

“Pup?” Sirius eyed the pretty little girl, she had wild, golden blonde hair and big green eyes, not quite the same colour as Harry’s, nor the same shape, but close.

“Being a girl? How would that work?” Sirius had put the idea in Harry’s head and he couldn’t get it out.

“You’d take a gender swap potion. Normally, it can be reversed with an antidote or purging potion, but we’re in your ‘it can do anything, Room’. So…?” Sirius shrugged.

“Then what?” Harry asked.

“Then you live with it.” Sirius said. “It’s been done before. Not often, I’ll grant, but it’s happened enough that St. Mungo's and the Aurors have a routine for dealing with it.”

“Uh…?”

Sirius huffed. “Sometimes I forget that you weren’t raised in the wizarding world, pup. Look… Some families are patriarchal and some are matriarchal, right?” When Harry nodded, Sirius went on. “In the case of a matriarchal family that’s last generation has no daughters, often a son will take a gender swap and stay as a woman long enough to get pregnant and give birth to a daughter. St. Mungo's have potions that can ensure that the baby, or babies, are girls. In patriarchal families with no sons, a girl will be given the potion and tasked with making a suitable woman pregnant. Usually, it’s temporary.”

“But not always?”

“Not, there have been a few over the years that decided they preferred the other gender and there was one poor guy that was attacked by a griffin, damaged the tackle so badly that he took the potion and had the goblins make it permanent.” Sirius winced in memory.

“Ooh… ouch…” Harry grimaced.

“Yeah.” Sirius bared his teeth in imagined pain.

“So, do you think it’s been done enough that Dumbledore will think of it?” Harry asked.

“No, pup. As far as I know, there’s only been… maybe half a dozen in the last century.” Sirius answered.

“Okay…” Harry sighed. “Let’s do this.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to. You know that, right?”

“The alternative is being Dumbledore’s weapon, whether I’m willing or not.” Harry reminded him. “And if I’m de-aged to get rid of the horcrux, then re-aged, being a girl will seem more natural to me. Right?”

Sirius nodded. “That’s about right. Apparently, it settles into your subconscious more, the longer you’re that way or the younger you are when you change.”

“That’s as clear as mud, Siri.” Harry huffed in amusement.

“If we de-age you back to twelve months old, do the conversion and the gender-swap, then re-age you to… whatever, most parts of your mind will fully accept the change with only the small possibility of any confusion. But that should fade, the longer that you’re a girl.” Sirius added.

“Oh.” Harry nodded. “That makes more sense.”

“Good. Can we get rid of the horcruxes, now? Please?”

“Sure.” Harry turned to the piles of junk in the pile. “Can we have the diadem of Ravenclaw, with the horcrux made by Tom Marvolo Riddle placed on a table in front of us, please?” It took a few moments before a table slid down an aisle in the piles and came to a stop in a clearing in front of Harry and Sirius. Seconds later, a pretty tiara-like piece of jewellery floated down onto the table. “Would Hogwarts, or the Room, place a shield around the diadem, please? Thank you.” Harry patted a hand on the wall of the Room in thanks, as a silvery shield formed around the diadem. “Please remove the Horcrux from the diadem and force it to dissipate.” Seconds passed before a greasy cloud of smoke was ejected from the diadem’s main jewel, it twisted and turned, forming a ghostly face before it began to fold in on itself. “Once the horcrux is gone and the diadem clear of any magics that Rowena Ravenclaw wouldn’t approve of, the shield can be released.”

“One down, pup. How many to go?”

“There was the diadem, a ring, a cup, a locket, a diary and me.” Harry said, absently, not taking his attention from the diadem. “Right, time for the next one.”

Twenty minutes later, Harry was frowning. “Hogwarts? Can you tell if de-aging me will remove the horcrux from my scar?” There was a quiet hum, followed by a bright _ding-ding_ of a bell. “Am I correct in assuming that you agreed with me? One ding for yes, two for no.” _Ding._ “Brilliant. Sirius? Ready to start?” Harry called.

“Hwa…? What…?” Sirius blinked awake, he’d been dozing on a sofa off to one side.

“The horcruxes are dealt with, all except me. We’re ready to start and you’re first.”

Sirius dragged himself to his feet, yawning broadly as he crossed to stand beside Harry. “What time… is it?” He paused as he yawned, again.

In the air in front of them, numbers formed.

_2.57am_

_7 th June 1994._

“Great, thanks, Hogwarts.” Sirius grinned at the ceiling. He was answered by a soft hum. “Okay, let’s do this.”

“Right.” Harry nodded. “Can we have whatever potions are necessary to make Sirius Black into the son of Patrick Matthew Grimmley and Sarah Anne Lewis, aged twenty-nine? Please? Something that will register magically.” A goblet of smoking liquid appeared on the table that still stood in front of Harry. “Bottoms up, Siri.” Harry handed it to his godfather.

Sirius took a deep breath. “Here goes…” He lifted the goblet to his lips and began to drink. “Ooh, tasty…” He sucked down the rest of the brew and shuddered as it spread through him. “Now what?”

Words appeared in the air.

_Now you lay down until the change is complete._

“Ta…” Sirius folded himself down onto the floor and shuddered again. “Okay, that feels… weird…” His head fell back as he passed out.

_It will take four minutes for the potion to saturate his system and another three for the changes to be complete._

“Thank you, Hogwarts. Could you make up muggle documents for him in the name of Nigel Patrick Grimmley?”

_Date of birth?_

“Today’s date with 1961 as the year. He’ll need all the essential muggle document placed for him. We plan on using time turners to turn back to August 1990.”

 _Birth Certificate. National Insurance Number. Bank account – any preferred bank? A Unique Taxpayer Reference number. Tax Identification Number._ _It is best to overcompensate than to not have sufficient documentation._ _Do you require accommodation?_

“Plus, marriage certificates for Nigel and Lauren, too, please. And no to the accomodation, thank you all the same. As I said, we plan on using time turners to turn back to 1990 and will be staying in a holiday rental while Siri- Nigel goes to the Ministry to buy a place in Wales. If we can’t get a place in Wales, we’ll try for Dorset or Somerset.” Harry paused as various muggle documents formed in mid-air and floated down onto the table beside him.

_Will you require similar documentation?_

“Probably. We’ll clarify that once Siri- Nig- Paddy is awake.” Dobby appeared at Harry’s side, but his attention was caught by the frames containing the images of an altered Harry.

“Harry?” The elf asked. “Why does Harry have three pictures of Harry in disguise and a picture of Missy Titania?”

“Who?” Harry asked.

“Missy Titania.” Dobby pointed at the first frame, the one where the gender-swapped and blood converted Harry was shown.

“Titania?” Harry blinked, then frowned. “Is her name Titania Grimmley?”

“Yes, Harry.”

“How do you know her?”

“Missy Titania is a Gryffindor, she shares a dorm with Harry’s Wheezy’s sister, Missy Ginny.” Dooby answered.

“Oh, crap.” Harry muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

_“Harry?” The elf asked. “Why does Harry have three pictures of Harry in disguise and a picture of Missy Titania?”_

_“Who?” Harry asked._

_“Missy Titania.” Dobby pointed at the first frame, the one where the gender-swapped and blood converted Harry was shown._

_“Titania?” Harry blinked, then frowned. “Is her name Titania Grimmley?”_

_“Yes, Harry.”_

_“How do you know her?”_

_“Missy Titania is a Gryffindor, she shares a dorm with Harry’s Wheezy’s sister, Missy Ginny.” Dooby answered._

_“Oh, crap.” Harry muttered._

Harry waited until Sirius, who wasn’t Sirius anymore, woke up.

“Oh, my head…” Sirius lifted his hands and clasped them around the crown of his head. “Ooh, I don’t like that…”

“Siri?” Harry called softly, from the table where he’d been writing notes.

“Pup?” Sirius’ voice was similar, but not exactly the same, silkier and a little lower. Hermione would have called it ‘seductive’, Harry just called it warmer.

“It worked.”

“It did? You’re sure?” Sirius asked.

“Yep.” Harry hadn’t lifted his head or turned around.

“How can you be sure? You haven’t even looked at me.” Sirius argued.

“Because of the images. The one of me as a girl? Dobby called her-me Missy Titania and says sh- **_I_** share a dorm with Ginny and the Gryffindor second year girls.” Harry answered.

“Oh…” Sirius breathed in surprise.

“Yeah, he brought me a copy of her- **_my_** enrolment stuff and a few things that I don’t want to leave for Dumbledore to find.”

“The Map?”

“And the cloak.” Harry added. “I might have mine from our world, but that doesn’t mean I have to leave this world’s for Dumbledore to play with.”

“He’s not an evil man, Harry.” Sirius said.

“No, he's not. He's just so focused on Voldy and finding a way to defeat him, that he can’t see that making a thirteen-year-old, or even a seventeen-year-old, do it, is wrong.” Harry sighed. “And he’ll use everything he can to protect the magical world and if that means sacrificing one person, he’ll do it, he just forgets that the person he’s sacrificing is little more than a child.”

“Yeah…” Sirius sighed, then frowned. “Did you say… Dobby recognised the image of the swapped you?”

“I did.” Harry nodded. “Sh- I’m still a Gryffindor, but sh- **_I’m_** in Ginny’s year.”

“Ah… Okay, then, so we know it works.” Sirius blinked.

“Yep. Oh and Hogwarts says that we will have to confirm your name with a special quill, the same sort used for magical name changes, to have your new name embedded in your core and that we should cast a fidelius on the knowledge that you used to be Sirius Black. I’ll need to do the same with my name change, too. After that, nothing anyone does will tell them that we used to be Sirius Black and Harry Potter.” Harry said.

“Anything else we need to know or do?”

“Dobby brought me a copy of Titania’s school paperwork, for me to get all the details from. So, we’re good there.” Harry consulted a sheet of paper. “We’ve worked out how many turns of which time turner we need to do to get us back to 1st August 1990. Dobby also found a heap of clothes that will fit both of us and has packed a trunk for each of us, with a set of clothes to wear immediately. I have **_this_** Harry’s map and cloak as well as **_mine_** and all my stuff from our world, in mine. And all the stuff from your vault is in yours.” He pointed to a pair of trunks, one dark brown and one golden brown. “Yours is the darker one.”

“Good.”

“Oh and wands? Dobby said he could fetch wands that would match us, from the lost wand room, after I’m Titania, so we don’t have to traipse halfway across the school.”

“Great.” Sirius sighed, he’d felt half naked without a wand.

“He also brough a note from Titania.” Harry said.

“A note?”

“Yeah… She says to aim for her nineth birthday and for us to put the mirrors back where you got them, Remus is going to go looking for them. That we should take one copy of every book in the Room… Dobby’s sorting that out now, putting them into a library trunk. She also said to keep the linked trunks, that she kept in touch with her father through them.”

“Okay, that’s… I don’t know whether that’s comforting of confusing…” Sirius tilted his head in thought.

“Let’s go with comforting, Titania’s in second year, so... We know the conversions work. We know the time turning works. We know the hide in plain sight stuff works. We know that we have a way to stay in touch.” Harry said.

“Okay… Nice to have confirmation.” Sirius nodded.

“You’re all sorted, as far as identification is concerned.” Harry handed Sirius a muggle travel wallet, opened to show all the various documents.

“Great, now all we need to do is you.” Sirius laid the wallet on top of his trunk.

“Yep. I’m ready. This is going to be done in stages.” Harry pointed a bookshelf. “The goblet labelled ‘2’ is the de-aging potion, that should… **_should_** … get rid of the horcrux, but if it doesn’t, you need to give me the potion marked with ‘2A’, it’s an exorcism booster. Okay?” Sirius nodded and Harry went on. “The potion labelled ‘3’ is the gender-swap potion. Next is the conversion potion labelled ‘4’, followed by the re-aging potion ‘5’. And last is the setting agent, needless to say, that is labelled ‘6’. Got it?”

“Got it. ‘2’, then if needed ‘2A’. Then the rest in order, ‘3-6’. How long between potions? And will you be awake during the process?” Sirius paid careful attention.

“Wait approximately ten minutes for the de-aging, but the rest only need five minutes. And no, I won’t be awake. Documentation that Hogwarts showed me, says it’s very painful and better if I’m not awake. I’ll take potion ‘1’ which a variant of a dreamless sleep, before we begin, and you’ll have to spell the rest directly into my stomach.” Harry replied.

“I can do that.” Sirius nodded. “Should I do the name confirmation before we start on you?”

“Probably a good idea, then we don’t have to remember it later.” Harry shrugged.

“Right.” Sirius dragged himself to his feet and approached the table. He picked up a shimmering golden quill and after taking a deep breath, began to write on a sheet of parchment.

While he was doing that, Harry was stripping down to his underwear, completely _**un**_ selfconscious of his body. Sharing a dorm with four other boys for six years and a tent with Hermione and Ron for months and Hermione for weeks after Ron left, drove any sense of modesty out of him. He sent a quick thank you to Hermione in his mind for oversharing the side-effects of being a female, at least he knew what to expect from the body he was about to get. Maybe this was why it never worried him when Hermione and Ginny talked about the 'finer details' of being a girl?

“Ready?” Sirius held out a phial, clearly marked ‘1’.

“As ready as I’m ever going to be.” Harry closed his eyes.

“Pup?” Sirius waited until Harry opened his eyes. “I love you, I’ve loved you since before you were born. Nothing is going to change that. Not you becoming a girl. Not you deciding against it. Nothing.”

Harry let a single tear fall. “I know, Siri, and I love you, too. The chance to have you as a parent? As my dad? I want that. The rest is just dealing with crap.” He hugged the older wizard and took the phial, lifting it to his lips and drinking the tasteless, purple potion. He had time to hand it back to Sirius and lay down on the sofa before everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, next he felt decidedly different.

“You awake, yet?” Sirius leant over the back of the sofa. “You make a very pretty girl, pup. With Hogwarts’ help I got a series of pictures of you and I at different ages, I kinda felt that we should have some to put on the wall, just in case we have visitors, sometime.”

“Okay.” Harry blinked, his voice had changed so much. He huffed, he wasn’t a ‘ ** _he_** ’ anymore he was a ‘ _ **she**_ ’ and she had to get used to thinking like that. “I thought it would be automatic, that I’d be a girl? In my mind I mean.”

“No, not really.” Sirius answered. “The automatic bit is how you feel, the thinking bit requires a time or a charm, the magical residue wears off in a few month, but by that time, it will have set in and won’t register on a charms scan.”

“Can you do that? It feels… wrong... when I think of being ‘Harry’ or a boy.” The young girl whispered and wrapped a robe around her shoulders.

“I can do that. Should I call you Titania, from now on, or…?”

“I think so…?” Titania said up quickly. “Oh!” She gasped. “Did it work? Did the potions get rid of the horcrux?”

“They did, but there was a struggle, so I dosed you with the exorcism potion, too. Hogwarts put a shield around you so it couldn’t re-infect you. It was… vile…” Sirius swallowed at the memory of the pain his pup went through.

“Yeah, it was kinda ugly.” Titania remembered the thing under the bench in the ghost-version of King’s Cross Station, where Harry had met Dumbledore after letting Riddle kill him.

“Alright, are you ready? We’re running out of night, Pomfrey checks the wards at six and it’s after five. We need to get out of here and you still need to get dressed, do the name change stuff and Dobby has to get us some wands.” Sirius tilted his head. “Talking of wands? Are you leaving your holly wand behind?”

“Yes, I’m going to snap the one from this Harry and leave it under the pillow on the bed I was supposed to be in.” Titania gave a cheeky grin. “And I want to flummox Snape.”

“Snivellus?”

“Siri-”

“Better call me, dad, pup.” Sirius cut in. “I’m not Sirius Black, anymore. Now, I’m Nigel Patrick Grimm. My family called me ‘Paddy’, as I wouldn’t answer to Nigel.”

“Then you better stop with the pup, too many people will remember Sirius calling baby-Harry that.”

“Then what **_am_ **I supposed to call you? Princess?” Paddy demanded and Titania started to snicker.

“ ** _I_** … will be the princess of pranks, Fred and George better watch out or I’ll make them Slytherin green.” Titania laughed, a delicate girly laugh, but also a decidedly evil one. “As for what to call me, I never completed my Animagus transformation, but the Room can provide the potion that will tell us what I am, we can base it around that.” She suddenly looked unsure. “Can’t we?”

“Of course, we can, Princess.” Paddy came around the sofa and gave her a hug, before pulling her onto to lap. “You’re my daughter, now. Oh, Princess, you’re my daughter, now, and I’m never leaving you. Never.”

Titania snuggled into her father’s arms for a minute, before reluctantly pulling away.

“I need to get dressed and do the name stuff.” She muttered.

“And you said you wanted to upset Snivellus?” Paddy asked.

“Snape… He… He saved me- no, he saved **_Harry’s_** life. Many times. There was a Life Debt to James that passed to Harry, but as no-one told Harry about it, he couldn’t dismiss it, so Snape had to keep saving Harry. Right up until the end, even dying he was still trying to save Harry.” Titania blinked. “Did I tell you what I heard right after I woke up here? In the hospital wing, I mean?”

“No…” Paddy frowned. “What did Snivellus say?”

“I overheard him and Trelawney, they were right outside the hospital entrance.” She took a sharp breath in. “Trelawney was the one to set us up tonight, the night Hermione and Harry rescued you. She was the one responsible. She said that…” Titania told Paddy what Trelawney and Snape had said.

“Really?” Paddy blinked in surprise. “Snape really thinks you’ll defeat Voldemort?”

“He wouldn’t bet against Lily and James’ child and he actually asked Trelawney if she would. She just said ‘oh’, like that had never occurred to her before.”

“She was never the smartest witch out there.” Paddy shrugged. “So, what are you going to do about Snape?”

“I’m going to dismiss the Life Debt…” She hummed in thought. “If it hasn’t already dismissed, because there’s no Harry Potter, anymore. And leave him a note that pretty much says, Voldy’s gone and Snape bet on the right person.”

“Oh, that’s going to rankle.” Paddy grinned.

“Isn’t it just.” Titania stood, crossed to the table and picked up the golden quill and wrote her name.

Titania Dorea Grimmley.

As she wrote she felt the truth of those three words settle into her core.

“My name is Titania Dorea Grimmley.” She said, sighing as she felt magic weave itself around her.

“Well done, Princess.” Paddy smiled softly at his daughter. “Do the Animagus Identification potion, so I can figure out what else I can call you.”

As Paddy said that, as goblet appeared on the table in front of Titania. She huffed at her father but picked up the goblet. Swallowing the vile brew, she forced herself not to gag. Once it was down, she felt the rush of heat flash through her veins, then it was a pulse of magic and she felt the transformation forced upon her.

“Oh, sweetheart…” Paddy whispered. “McGonagall’s gonna love you. You’re a… well… I’m not too sure. You’re white and some sort of big cat, but I don’t know which one.”

Another pulse of magic and Titania was a girl again.

“That was… wicked…” She whispered, beaming at her father. “I wonder if you have a different form, now?”

“Huh… didn’t think about that.” Paddy huffed. “Kind of hope **_not_** , but kind of hope **_so_**.”

“Can you take the potion and find out?”

“I don’t know.” Paddy looked up at the ceiling. “If it’s safe for me to take, I’d like the Animagus Idenification potion, too, please.” He barely blinked when a goblet appeared on the table. “Looks like it’s safe, Kitten.” A few quick swallows and another pulse of magic and a Grimm stood beside Titania.

Familiar, except for its colouring, the silver and grey Grimm stood up and shook itself, silver light glittering around him. Another pulse of magic and Paddy straightened up.

“Well?” He asked.

“You’re still a Grimm, but now, you’re silver and grey, instead of black.” Titania crossed to the trunk and picked up the clothes that lay on it. “I need a shower, Da, and so do you.”

“Do we have time for that? Or should we wait until we’re out of here?”

Titania tilted her head. “After five, you said?”

“Yeah.”

“Dobby?” Titania called.

“Missy Titania calls Dobby?” The elf emerged from wherever he’d been and trotted to her side.

“I did. Can you summon, from here or the lost wand room, the three wands most suited to each Da and I?”

“Dobby will look. Dobby suggests that missy Titania and Master Paddy wait for showers, Madam Pommy-frey is awake, but is still in bed.” With that the elf closed his eyes and held out his hands, like he was holding a bowl or flat plat on them. Three wands appeared and Dobby opened his eyes. “Theses wands are for Master Paddy.” He handed them to Paddy and closed his eyes, again. Four wands appeared and Dobby opened his eyes. “Theses four wand are too evenly matched to missy Titania, for Dobby to choose between them. Dobby thinks missy Titania should take them all.” He held them out to her.

“Thank you, Dobby, I will. Can you find some holsters?”

“You’re not wearing them, Kitten. Not until we get a home and can ward it. You’re underage and we’re not ready to front the Ministry.” Paddy warned.

“Bugger.” Titania whispered.

“And you better forget language like that, young lady, at least until you get to Hogwarts. What I don’t know won’t hurt your bum. Got it?” Paddy frowned.

“Yes, Da…” Titania mock-glared at him.

“Good. So… how are we going to get out of here, then?”

“We’ll use the linked trunks, to get back to the tent and Buckbeak. Then Dobby will bring the trunk to us. Then we can turn back to August first 1990.”

“I wonder how Pomfrey and Dumbledore are going to react to no Harry?” Paddy grinned.


	6. Chapter 6

_“Bugger.” Titania whispered._

_“And you better forget language like that, young lady, at least until you get to Hogwarts. What I don’t know won’t hurt your bum. Got it?” Paddy frowned._

_“Yes, Da…” Titania mock-glared at him._

_“Good. So… how are we going to get out of here, then?”_

_“We’ll use the linked trunks, to get back to the tent and Buckbeak. Then Dobby will bring the trunk to us. Then we can turn back to August first 1990.”_

_“I wonder how Pomfrey and Dumbledore are going to react to no Harry?” Paddy grinned._

The clearing was small, the tent filling one side and Buckbeak making himself a nest of twigs on the other. Paddy and Titania looked at the industrious hippogriff and shrugged.

“Someone’s going to have to feed him, properly. I know Dobby brought plenty of ferrets or rabbits or whatever, but I draw the line at hand feeding animals that are larger than me.” Paddy huffed.

Titania snorted and left the tent, the early morning light bathing her in silver and gold, lighting her hair and giving her a halo. Paddy looked at her and sighed. She was so pretty but under that she was **_so_** his daughter, not to mention anything left over from James and Lily. Her looks were a complete and utter lie, she was going to be an evil little shit and he loved her. She’d been his daughter for less than an hour and already he couldn’t imagine life without her.

Outside, Titania paused where Buckbeak could see her and instead of bowing, she curtsied low, her robes flaring around her. Buckbeak considered her for barely a second, before chirping and calling to her. She picked up a ferret and approached him, holding the ferret out to the side.

“Hello Beaky, how you doing? You hungry? Want a ferret? Nice and tasty.” She crooned but he ignored the ferret and instead nudged at her until she was close enough for him to preen her hair. “Oh, no, not happening, pal.” She laughed and gently pushed his head away. She might not be Harry Potter anymore, but she still had unruly hair, albeit golden blonde and curly instead of black and just plain messy.

Buckbeak took no offence at her and after chittering at her, he gently accepted the ferret and settled down in his makeshift nest.

Titania laughed softly and headed back into the tent. “Beaky’s fed and having a nap.” She said to her father, giving him a hug as she passed him on her way to the kitchen area. “We need to come up with a way to disguise him, something better than Hagrid dusting him with coal-soot and changing his name to Witherwings.”

“ ** _That_** … I can do. There’s a colour change charm that can be tied to his blood, the residue dissipates after a few months, but the colour doesn’t. One of the few things that Walburga Black taught her sons, that was useful and not a curse.”

“Urgh, you have my sympathy, my deepest sympathy, even as a portrait she was foul.” Titania screwed up her nose.

“Yep.” Paddy stretched. “Want something to eat?”

“You are not allowed in the kitchen, Da. I remember Remus berating you for making toast and setting the stove on fire… which considering you weren’t using the stove, is pretty impressive.” Titania grinned.

“Now, listen here, Kitten…” Paddy started.

“Nope, my kitchen.” She said.

“No, my kitchen. Missy Titania and Master Paddy stay out.” Dobby stood in the archway to the kitchen with a heavy wooden spoon in his hand, which he waved at them. “Mine. Missy Titania and Master Paddy employ Dobby to look after them and Dobby will.”

Titania and Paddy looked at Dobby, then each other and nodded. “Yes, Dobby.” They said together.

“So… no kitchen for either of us.” Paddy sighed. “He’s going to end up ruling our house, you know that, right?”

“Of course, he is.” Titania laughed.

“Just as long as you know. Um…? When are we doing the time turning?” Paddy asked. “And how do we do it?”

“Easiest way is to loop the chain around your neck and turn the hourglass.” Titania said slowly.

“Not what I meant, kitten.” Paddy huffed. “If we’re taking Buckbeak and Dobby, how are we doing it? Pack the tent and then what? The chain around all of us? Put Dobby and Buckbeak in a trunk? Stun Beaky? What?”

“I kinda figured that we’d give Beaky a sleeping draught, transfigure him into a statue and put him in a trunk.” Titania shrugged and Paddy nodded. “As for Dobby? I just don’t know. Maybe we should ask him, what he prefers?”

“All yours, kitten. I want that shower.” With that Paddy left the main room of the tent and headed for a tiny bathroom, that was jammed in between the kitchen and a bedroom.

“I hear ya.” Titania headed for the kitchen. “Dobby?” She stopped at the entrance.

“Yes, Missy Titania?”

“Da and I are going to shower, so no hurry on food, just yet. Also, have a think. Once we’ve eaten, Da and I are going to use the time turners, if you’re coming with us, work out how. We’re going to give Beaky a sleeping draught, transfigure him into a statue and put him in a trunk until we get a place of our own. Do you want to stay with him or us, or something different? Think about it.”

“Dobby will. Missy goes and has shower and Dobby will be ready.”

Two weeks later and nearly [four years into the past](August%201990), Titania huffed at her father.

“That’s it. We’re going today.” She muttered.

“Going where?” Paddy was enjoying the early morning sun and a nice hot cup of tea, before Dobby brought out breakfast.

“The Ministry.” Titania answered. “I’ve had enough. This is nice, but I want a place of our own. Somewhere I can fly with Beaky, ride a broom and have picnics in the woods.” She huffed. “I want a room of my own, that I can decorate how I like. A garden that I can plant what I want in. And a library to put all the books that I brought from before.” It wasn’t quite a rant, but Hermione would be proud of how close she’d come without actually ranting.

Paddy raised his head and looked at her. “Really?” He grimaced. “That means we have to go to Gringotts and open vaults, get keys and tests.” He whined.

“Yes, I know you’re afraid of the goblins, but for Merlin’s sake, Da… It has to happen sooner or later and I’d prefer to get it over and done with.”

“Yes, kitten.” He sighed. “I’m not sure I’m hungry, now.” He leant forward and put his head in his hands.

“That’s okay, I’ll eat your share of the muffins.” Titania smirked as Paddy sat up quickly.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He glared at her. “You keep your thieving little fingers off my muffins, daughter, and I’ll buy you a broom.”

“I’ve got a broom, Da.” She laughed. “Harry had Hermione and Ron go shopping for him. There’s a pair of firebolts in my veil trunk. One of which Padfoot bought. I wasn’t leaving that behind.”

“Oh, kitten…” Paddy sighed and reached over to give her a hug. “I know you miss them. I miss Moony, too.”

“You know, I prayed that they’d find each other.” She whispered. “Those that died at Hogwarts. We were really lucky, Da. We had the remains of the order, I think there were only twelve or fourteen of us, and the D.A., another thirty, perhaps. Outside of that we had the staff and maybe… twenty students.”

“Oh, kitten.”

“We took on the greatest dark lord in modern history, along with his army, and we whipped their asses.” She sighed. “Although, I have to admit, it didn’t feel like it at the time. Those we lost were… too much. Dumbledore, Mad-Eye, Remus, Tonks, Snape, Fred, Lavender, Colin. They weren’t just our friends, they were our family. And that snake-faced bastard took them away from us.” A tear ran down her cheek. “So, yeah, I prayed. To god, to Merlin, Morgana and even to Lady Magic. I hope that they’re happy and at peace.”

Paddy said nothing, he just pulled his daughter from her seat and into his arms. She so rarely talked about the war, that he wasn’t going to stop her now.

“For all that…” She went on. “We had incredibly few losses. A handful of people. Less than a hundred of us stood against him and his army and we lost less than fifteen people. Against his army of… how many? Three hundred? Four hundred?” She buried her head in Paddy’s shoulder. “Seeing Fred… that was the hardest thing. Remus was hard, but he was more distant, a favoured Uncle, but Fred was there every day… except for that last year at school and our year on the run, but no-one was there for that but Ron, Hermione and me.” She wiped her face on a handkerchief that Paddy hastily conjured. “Thanks.” She whispered.

“Should I be looking for a mindhealer for you to talk to, Kitten?”

“It's not just me, Da, you have just as many problems as I do, probably more. You had to put up with Walburga for years before Azkaban, I just had Petunia and Hogwarts.” Titania reminded him.

“It’s going to be hard on you, going to Hogwarts, isn’t it?” Paddy asked.

“Yeah, first year is going to be a bitch. In more ways than one.”

“Oh?”

“Ginny had Tom’s diary and was writing in it. He was possessing her, draining her. He made her open the chamber of secrets and let the basilisk out into the school.” Titania answered.

“Oh, gods. Don’t tell me, please don’t. It just makes me not want to let you go.” Paddy’s arms tightened around her.

“I’ll be fine, I’ll stay near the other girls in my dorm, near Ginny, she was never in danger in the halls. If I stay near her, I’ll be fine. And Harry saves the day, in late May. No-one was killed, Mrs Norris, Sir Nicholas and four students were petrified, that was it.” Titania assured her father. “Harry deals with it, I don’t have worry, too much. I’m more concerned about the dementors in Harry’s third year. I'll have to work on my Patronus and hope that it changed with the conversion or that I can change its shape, me and Harry both having stags for patroni is… not good.”

“I can help you with that. James and I helped Remus with his. It was a werewolf, Moony, which was a bit too much of a give-away. We spent weeks working with him to disguise it. You’ll have to think really hard on what you want it to be.” Paddy said. “Focus really hard.”

“I know what I wanted. I wanted your Grimm but that could be a bit telling, too. So, I’m going to go with my Animagus form.” She huffed. “Once we get a place of our own and can bring the pensieve out, so I can watch your memory and work out what I am.”

“Once we have a place of our own.” Paddy nodded, suddenly keen to get moving.


	7. Chapter 7

_“I can help you with that. James and I helped Remus with his. It was a werewolf, Moony, which was a bit too much of a give-away. We spent weeks working with him to disguise it. You’ll have to think really hard on what you want it to be.” Paddy said. “Focus really hard.”_

_“I know what I wanted. I wanted your Grimm but that could be a bit telling, too. So, I’m going to go with my Animagus form.” She huffed. “Once we get a place of our own and can bring the pensieve out, so I can watch your memory and work out what I am.”_

_“Once we have a place of our own.” Paddy nodded, suddenly keen to get moving._

The goblin looked at the test and frowned, before pressing a button on his desk.

“Miss Titania has an account waiting for her. It was laid down by Lord Arcturus Black, with the understanding that it was to be available to the first underage witch or wizard descended from his cousin, Marius, who appeared to claim it, and if no-one claimed it by the year 2000, it would revert to Andromeda Black's youngest descendant. Would Miss Titania like to claim the account? It can stay as an account or we have sufficient space that it could be transferred to a vault.”

Titania looked to her father for the answer.

“I think it would be a good idea, kitten. Arcturus is a canny old bastard, if he put an account together, there’s a reason. Take it and transfer it to a vault, we can add what grandpa gave you, to it.” Paddy was quietly gobsmacked, he was just doing a very good job of hiding it.

“Yes, Da.” Titania said before turning to the goblin. “Yes, please, manager goblin. And can I have a coin purse that links to my vault? Please?”

She looked at the goblin with wide green eyes and tilted her head slightly, looking up through her lashes. All the things that Hermione said would make a young girl look sweet and innocent. And it seemed that even goblins weren’t immune to a pretty child.

“Certainly, Miss Titania. If you will excuse me for one minute, I shall see to a vault and the transfer of your funds and return with a key and coin purse.” The goblin gave her a smile that one would almost call ‘paternal’ and left the room.

“Oh. My. Gosh.” Paddy gasped. “You got a goblin to smile… I didn’t think it was possible…”

“Hush, Da.” Titania blushed.

“Ooh, that blush is so cute…” Paddy gave her a hug. “I need to see more of them.”

“Not right now, you don’t.” She smacked at his hands half-heartedly before hugging him, then pushing him away. “Behave, Da.” She scolded and the two began to bicker about what constituted ‘behaving’.

The goblin returned and listened to the girl and her father, he smiled to himself, she really was a pretty little thing, a pity she would grow into a human. He returned to his seat and laid a basket on the table.

“The key to your vault, Miss Titania. A coin purse linked to your vault. And a vault ledger. If you wish you may deposit via your coin purse, you will, however, have to nominate a base amount to remain in the purse.” Each item was slid across the table, one at a time.

“Um…” She bit her lip as she thought, before nodding. “Twenty-nine κnuts, sixteen §ickles and fourteen ʛalleons.” She said. “Total of fifteen ʛalleons.”

The goblin nodded and wrote something down on his notepad. “Very good. You can deposit both magical and muggle money to your vault by placing it inside the purse and pulsing your magic into the Gringotts button on the side of the purse. It will automatically transfer to your vault and be listed as a deposit in your ledger. Inside the purse are five pockets, one on each side and three in the middle. The side pockets are for Gringotts’ draughts and an access card that can be used in either the muggle world or the magical world. The centre pockets are for coins. Deposits do not have to be sorted, merely enclosed within the purse. Deposits have no service fee, however, withdrawals do. You can either decide on a per annum fee or a per use fee. It is not wise to keep your key in your purse as, if your purse were to be lost or stolen, it will revert to your vault. If anyone other than yourself and your father were to handle the purse, it would likewise, return to your vault. You would have to attend in person to retrieve it and that incurs a fee.” The goblin handed over a list of possible charges to Paddy.

“I’d prefer the annual fee schedule, please.” Paddy said. “And I’d like the same setup on a vault for myself.”

“Very well, sir. Please excuse me, while I see to it.” The goblin left the room and returned in moments. “If you would both place a drop of your blood on the Gringotts’ button on your purse, the Gringotts’ symbol on the card and allow the ledger’s stylus to draw a sample for recognition. Miss Titania, you can add you father but not until each item flashes with gold light. To add your father or another person, you must do this again, followed by your chosen person’s blood, within one minute. Elves are excluded from this, our wards recognise their bond to their Master or Mistress.” The goblin waited while Paddy used the knife provided to cut Titania’s finger and then his own, before the blade was cleansed. “Your identity tests, I would suggest getting a personal portfolio to store them, and any further documentation, in an item with convenient access.”

“Thank you, manager Snapblade.” Paddy nodded.

“Master Grimmley, Miss Grimmley. Good day to you.” With that the goblin was gone and a guard appeared to escort them from the office.

“Come on, kitten, let’s go home for morning tea, before we head to the Ministry.”

“Da?”

“We need to deposit some money, kitten. If we find what we want, the gold’s got to be in the vault before the Ministry ask for a transfer.” Paddy answered.

“Oh, right. Didn’t think about that.” Titania tilted her head. “Are the goblins going to be concerned about us depositing so much in one go?”

“No, honey, they don’t care what we put in our vaults.” Paddy paused as the guard grunted an objection. “Correction. As long as there’s nothing that is dangerous or detrimental to the bank or the goblin nation, they don’t care.” The guard nodded but kept walking.

“Oh, okay, then.”

Descending into the Ministry, via the phone box was just as disconcerting for the third time as it had been with Mr Weasley or with Harry’s friends.

“I don’t want to do this, Da.” Titania whispered, her voice shaking. The last time that she’d been in this building, she had seen the man beside her, die.

“Same, kitten, but we want a home and this is the only way to get a magical one.” Paddy was nervous and feeling a little ill. “Come on, let’s get this over with.” He approached the wand weighing station, handed over his wand and waited while the wizard laid it on a brass scale. A slip of parchment emerged and the wand was handed back. All without a word said. Paddy approached the information desk.

“Good morning, welcome to the Ministry of Magic. How can I assist you?” The young wizard manning the desk, asked.

“Real estate?” Paddy asked, realising he didn’t know what depart that was under.

“Don’t actually have a real estate department, sir, but all magical properties for sale are listed with the DMLE. Next door to the Wizengamot Admin Services. Left from the lift and fourth door on the right.” The young wizard replied.

“Thanks.” Paddy gave him a tight smile and lead Titania to the lifts. “Level two, kitten.” He said, once they were inside the lift’s cage.

“Yes, Da.” Titania said and pressed the appropriate button.

When the cage opened, he lead her out and to the left. Down the hall and through an unmarked door.

“Good morning.” Paddy greeted the elderly witch that sat at the reception desk.

“Morning, sir, miss. How can I help you?” The witch replied.

“We’ve just returned to England from international travel and… well, we want a home.” What Paddy said was technically true, if you considered that England and Scotland were separate countries. “Preferably something in Wales.” The Hogwarts’ records that Dobby had found before they’d used the time turners had recorded the Grimmley’s living in Wales.

“We have a number of properties available. What exactly are you after?” The witch asked.

“Land, at least fifty acres, but no more than a hundred, preferably within walking distance of a village, wizarding, muggle or mixed, doesn't matter. House? Minimum of three bedrooms, preferably four, two bathrooms, two story. Decent sized garden and a selection of outbuildings. Wards aren’t an issue, we’ll have the goblins set them. Floo is a must. Plenty of clear space, Titania likes to fly.” Paddy answered, feeling more secure, the longer they were here.

“Hmm…” The witch opened a drawer and flicked through a folder, before opening a second drawer and retrieving a number of folders. “We have a few that match…” She paused. “Oh, make that two. Sorry, one isn’t suitable, the only areas possible for flying are close to muggle walking trails.” She spun the folders around until they were facing Paddy and Titania.

“Hmm…” Paddy looked at each of them, as he did, something niggled at him, but he couldn’t remember exactly what it was. “How do we go about looking at them?”

“I can take you, each has a portkey that, if you were to purchase the property, would be handed over to you.” She indicated a strand of ribbon pinned to the inside of the folder.

“Then, we’d like to look at both properties, please.” Paddy replied.

“Certainly. If you would give me one minute to inform my colleague?” She didn’t wait for an answer but stood and hurried through a door behind her.

Returning, the witch plucked both folders up and tucked one into a pocket, the other was opened and the ribbon flipped out and the folder closed, again.

“If you would both take hold of the ribbon?” The witch held out the folder with its dangling ribbon.

Paddy and Titania exchanged glances and both shrugged. Worst came to worst, Paddy was armed, his wand in a holster on his forearm. They took hold of the ribbon and that horridly familiar pull was felt. As the world righted itself around them, they began to look around. Neat and well-kept gardens framed a stone house with whitewashed walls.

“I’ll wait here so you can look around wherever you like, all the current magics are on a hold, a standard procedure when an empty property is for sale, occupied one are a little different, but neither this, nor the second property, are occupied.” The witch told them. “This means that it’s a safe as it can be made. Your daughter’s not going to accidentally set something off.”

“Good to know.” Paddy nodded and the two wandered up the path to the house.

Ten minutes later, they emerged and re-join the Ministry witch.

“On to the second property?” She asked.

“Yes, please.” Paddy nodded.

Another familiar pull and they were standing in another garden, this one not nearly so neat. This time, the house was a darker stone, two story like they’d asked for, but it had a single-story addition to one side, all covered by a heavy slate roof. The whole place gave off an air of ‘tired and lonely’. Paddy felt something, somewhere in the back of his mind, sit up and take notice but couldn’t figure out what it was.

“Off you go, then. I’ll be right here.” The Ministry witch ordered.

“This way, kitten.” Paddy lead her to the addition and wandered inside. “There’s a potions lab through this door. And a basement through that one.” He rapped his knuckles against a door as they went passed it and pointed at a second.

“Da?” Titania’s voice was sharp. “How do you know what’s where?”

Paddy stopped and blinked. “Um…” He looked confused. “I’m not sure… I just do.”

“Have you been here before?”

“I don’t know…” As they emerged into what was clearly the living room, Paddy gasped. “I remember…” He whispered. “This was your… This was James and Lily’s place, when they first married. We were all sitting here, when Lily told us she was pregnant.”

 ** _“What?!”_** Titania squawked.

“James’ father, Fleamont, was a tough old man, he was all for James supporting himself. He was an Auror and even though James and I went into the hit-wizard program, he insisted that if James was going to marry before he was twenty-five, he had to support his own family.”

“Ah…”

“Yeah.” Paddy sighed. “That worked well, right up until Fleamont was killed in June 1979. The public were told it was Dragon-pox, but it wasn’t. Dolohov got him. Mia, Euphemia, your grandmother? She… she just gave up. They died three days apart.”

“Oh, gods.” Titania hugged her father, not trying to hide the tears.

“Kitten, kitten… It’s alright, it’s alright. They loved each too much to be apart, too much to survive without the other.” Paddy lifted his daughter into his arms and held her against his chest. “They used to visit here, every weekend. James and Lily rented this place, until then. They moved back to Godric’s Hollow between Fleamont’s death and Mia’s.”

“Is Dumbledore likely to remember that this was their place?” Titania’s muffled voice came from his shoulder.

“No, kitten. They only rented this place for a year. They would have loved to have been able to buy it, but at the time the owners weren’t interested in selling.”

“Oh…”

“Come on, let’s check out upstairs.” Paddy didn’t put her down, instead he hitched her over his hip.

“I’m too big to carry, Da.” Titania grumbled.

“Never.” He denied.

When they emerged from the cottage a few minutes later, the Ministry witch was leaning against a gatepost that opened into a field.

“Back to the Ministry?” She asked.

“Yes, I think so.” Paddy nodded and she held out a door key on a long chain that was clipped to her belt.

Sitting at her desk, Paddy glanced at Titania and when the girl gave him a smile, he draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side.

“What did you think?” The Ministry witch said. “If we can expand your search parameters, we’re likely to have a larger selection of properties to choose from.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Paddy shook his head. “The second place? Tell us more about it. Please?”

“Home…” Titania whispered, looking at the cottage.

“Yeah, kiddo, home.” Paddy nudged her shoulder with his hip as he went passed, a box of groceries in his arm. “Come on, let’s get settled in.”

Paddy nodded to the wizard manning the information desk.

“Good morning, welcome to the Ministry of Magic. How can I assist you?” The young wizard said, in exactly the same way he’d greeted Paddy, the month before.

“My daughter’s found herself a hippogriff… I’m assuming that I need to register it?” Paddy said.

“A hippogriff?” The young wizard blinked. “Yes, sir, you’ll need to register it. Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is on Level four. Turn right from the lifts, first door on the right.”

“Thanks.” Paddy stumped off, like any father that was fed up with their child’s actions, would do.

Entering the office that was marked R&C, he gentled tapped the bell on the counter with his finger, smiling when, instead of the sharp ‘ _ding-ding’_ he was expecting, the bell chimed like a grandfather clock.

“Oh, hello…” A cheerful voice was followed by a cheerful face as a middle-aged wizard emerged from the rows of shelves. “Welcome to Reg and Control. What can I do for you?”

Paddy huffed. “My daughter’s found herself a hippogriff. I think I need to register it.”

“A hippogriff? Really? That’s a little… unusual.” The wizard shook his head. “Oh, where are my manners. My apologies. I’m Amos Diggory.”

“Nigel Patrick Grimmley. Call me Paddy, though, I refuse to answer Nigel.” Paddy snorted. “And yes, I guess looking out the kitchen window to see your daughter sitting between the front claws of a hippogriff, that’s laying in your daisies and preening said daughter’s hair, is unusual.”

“Ah, and you wish to keep it?” Amos asked.

“I don’t really have much of a choice, here. Titania’s already named him and ordered food and grooming gear.” Paddy laughed. “Not to mention tried to sneak him up to her room. Thank Merlin, she’s got a balcony that I can expand for a nesting site.”

“Oh, my…” Amos’ eye widened.


	8. Chapter 8

_“And yes, I guess looking out the kitchen window to see your daughter sitting between the front claws of a hippogriff, that’s laying in your daisies and preening said daughter’s hair, is unusual.”_

_“Ah, and you wish to keep it?” Amos asked._

_“I don’t really have much of a choice, here. Titania’s already named him and ordered food and grooming gear.” Paddy laughed. “Not to mention tried to sneak him up to her room. Thank Merlin, she’s got a balcony that I can expand for a nesting site.”_

_“Oh, my…” Amos’ eye widened._

1990

November first found Paddy listening to the chimes of the grandfather clock, again, and there was a not so sneaking suspicion that he was going to get quite familiar with the sound.

“Ah… Mr(?)… Grimmsey…wasn’t it?” Amos Diggory asked.

“Grimmley, Mr Diggory, but call me, Paddy, please?” Paddy smiled at the man.

“Of course, Paddy, and I’m Amos. What can I do for you, today?” Amos tilted his head. “Had enough of the… hippogriff, wasn’t it?”

“It was, and no. Titania’s got him well in hand. The blasted thing loves nothing more than to roost on her balcony and croon to her as she drapes herself over him.” Paddy smiled softly. “You should see them fly together… it’s beautiful.”

“Ah, right.” Amos blinked. Flying with a hippogriff? “Then how can I help you?”

“Um… I went in to wake her this morning and got dive-bombed. There’s a pair of snidgets taken up residence on one of her bedposts. The finials for two of the posts are missing and they’ve made a nest on one.” Paddy grimaced. “I’m not keen on the idea of a nest right above her pillow, but I’m not sure that moving it is going to work.”

“Snidgets?” Amos’ face lit up. “Oh, that’s lovely, we do try to keep track of their numbers but they’re so particular in choosing a nest site. Moving them isn’t an option, not even a few feet, they’ll abandon the nest and won’t return. Do they have eggs?”

“They do. So far, there’s nine.”

“Heavens…” Amos sounded almost faint. “Truly? Nine? I’ve never heard of such a large clutch.”

“What can I say?” Paddy shrugged. “Titania has a way with feathered things.”

December tenth and Paddy was, once again, listening to the grandfather clock’s chimes.

“Mr…” Amos paused at Paddy’s huff. “Paddy. Hello, back again?”

“Amos.” Paddy gave him a gentle smile. “Titania asked me to update you on the snidgets’ clutch.”

“Oh?” Amos’ smile matched his.

“Yes, she now has fourteen snidgets making themselves at home in her bedroom.” Paddy tilted his head in consideration. “Not sure how many are going to stay, but they aren’t fully fledged, yet, so… Who knows?”

“Fourteen?” Amos gasped.

“Twelve hatchlings. One egg didn’t hatch.”

“My word…”

“Yeah…” Paddy chuckled suddenly. “You should have seen it, this morning, Amos. Kitten’s grooming Steelbeak, the hippogriff, while the snidget hatchlings are lined up along his back. And when Titania strokes down with the brush, each snidget buzzes into the air as her hand goes underneath them. They look like some kind of golden, feathered ribbon.”

1991

Mid-January brought Paddy to listen to the chimes again.

“Paddy?” Amos looked at him around the pile of files.

“Amos, how are you?” Paddy gave him a tired smile.

“I’m well, and you?”

“Yeah, fine, thanks.”

“But you’re back here?”

“Yes.” Paddy laughed. “I’m back.”

“Another registration?”

“Another registration.” Paddy nodded. “We went hiking this last weekend, wanted to check out the property, all the boundaries, you know. And well… Titania found an injured Augurey… and of course, she had to bring it home for treatment.”

“She sounds like a caring soul.” Amos said.

“She is. A bit stubborn, though.” Paddy snorted.

“So…? I take she wants to keep the Augurey?”

“Yep.” Paddy nodded. “It looks a bit like a plucked chicken at the moment, apparently it spontaneously moulted, once it felt safe. And guess where?”

“Titania’s bedroom…?” Amos grimaced.

“You got it in one.” Paddy huffed. “Green downy feathers everywhere. The snidgets took some to line their individual nests, Steelbeak took some for his nest and I managed to grab a handful of the fancier plumes. I figure they’ll make excellent quills. Have a few hippogriff feathers, too.” He hummed. “Maybe with a nice silver quill-grip, so they don’t have to be continuously trimmed.”

“Amos!” Paddy called after having made the bell chime twice.

“Coming.” The other wizard’s voice came from somewhere in the far reaches of the shelves.

“Paddy, hello. Back, again?”

“Yes, Amos.” Paddy grimaced. “Titania… I’m not sure about this one, Amos…”

“Paddy?”

“It… it looks like a fwooper.”

“Oh, my.” Amos’ brows rose.

“It looks like one but it doesn’t sound like one.”

“No?”

“No, it sings like a canary. And it’s… an unusual colour…” Paddy’s grimace faded into a moue of dislike.

“They do come in pink, Paddy.” Amos smiled.

“Pink, orange, yellow and lime green… right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“It’s blue, Amos, bright sky blue.” Paddy said, flatly.

“Blue?” Amos let his head pull back in surprise. “Fwoopers don’t come in **_blue_**.”

“No, they don’t. And as far as I’m aware, they don’t **_sing_** , either.” Paddy narrowed his eyes. “This one, this **_blue_** fwooper, has taken up a position on a strand of ribbon that Titania uses to hang feathers on, above her dressing table. It sits there for hours on end, singing its little heart out. I’m not entirely sure she hasn’t taught the blasted thing her favourite song.”

Amos just blinked. “Really?”

“Amos, it’s May, there’s no other reason for it to be singing ‘jungle bells’, all the flaming time…” Paddy glared.

“Ah…” A form was slid across the counter.

The day before Halloween, Paddy took a deep breath and tapped the bell, letting the chimes ring out.

A familiar head popped around the edge of a shelf, three rows down on the left.

“Paddy, hello. What’s she found this time?” Amos’ face lit in curiosity.

“A pyrehawk, Amos, she’s found a pyrehawk.” Paddy huffed.

“Well.” Amos blinked, then frowned. “Where’s she keeping it?”

“She went to the local blacksmith’s and nagged him into making her a [firedog](metal%20support%20for%20wood%20in%20a%20fireplace), something that raised the poor bird above the logs in her fireplace.” Paddy sighed.

“Ah, yes, that would work.” Amos nodded. “Is she wanting to keep it?”

“Oh, definitely. It’s given up a few feathers, wing and tail, for her collection.”

“Whatever is she going to do with them all?”

“I don’t know, Amos, really I don’t.” Paddy let his shoulders fall. “I have no idea what hell is going on in that kid’s head.”

It was the last day of 1991 and Paddy was standing in front of Amos, again.

“Again?” Amos’ brows rose sharply.

“Again…” Paddy grinned tiredly.

“What did she find this time?”

“A jabberknoll… but like the fwooper, it sings.” Paddy shrugged. “At least they harmonise with each other. I don’t think I could stand them clashing.”

“Uh, Paddy? You do know that jabberknolls are silent until just seconds before they die, right?” Amos replied, slowly.

“Apparently, not ones that my daughter adopts.” Paddy sighed.

1992

The floo in the office of Control and Regulation flared, signalling an incoming call.

“Amos? Amos? You there?” Paddy’s voice filled the office, a slightly panicked ring to it.

“Paddy?” Amos leapt from his seat, his cup of tea spilling onto his desk.

“Who’s your best CoMC healer? I’ve got yet another impossible creature cosying up to my daughter, but this one’s hurt and if I don’t get some help, it’s gonna die.” Paddy’s voice was almost frantic.

Amos blinked. “What have you got and what are the injuries?”

“A Pegasus pony and it’s got gouges down its flanks, like something a heck of a lot bigger tried to eat it.”

“How far are you from the Welsh Dragon Preserve?” Amos wondered, at the same time as he scribbled a note on a scrap of parchment.

“We’re in the Brecon Beacons, that’s up in Snowdonia.” Paddy replied.

“Right, not likely to be a dragon, then. Is your floo open? What’s the address? I’ll get Hagrid from Hogwarts, despite his size, he’s the best available today. Yesterday, it could have been Scamander, today, you get Hagrid.”

“That’s fine, just… hurry up before it bleeds to death on my daughter’s bedroom floor.” Paddy pulled his head back from the flames, only to shove it forward again. “The address is ‘[ _cartef_ ](home%20sweet%20home)_[melys cartef](home%20sweet%20home)’_. Original, I know, but Titania chose it and it fits us.”

Forty-five minutes later, Hagrid nodded to Paddy and the two men slumped down, their backs against the base of Titania’s bed.

“Well…” Hagrid sighed. “It’s gonna live. Nah idea what could’a tore it up like tha’. Thems claw marks, fer sure.”

“It can’t have been a dragon.” Paddy nodded. “We’re too far from the preserve. The poor beastie wouldn’t have made it all the way here, not from there.”

“No, it wouldn’t.” Amos’ voice was calm, considering, thoughtful. “That would mean someone has something they shouldn’t. But considering the fact that Hagrid has just been plying an impossibility with potions, I won’t rule it out.”

“Diggory?” Hagrid rumbled.

“That is undoubtedly, a Pegasus, yes?” Amos paused while nodded. “It is also, undoubtedly, a pony.” Hagrid nodded again. “I have worked in R&C since leaving Hogwarts, over twenty-five years ago. I have been senior assistant to the Head of Department for ten years and as she hates travelling, I have been the one to deal with the ICW’s R&C delegates. There’s never been a Pegasus pony before. Standard Pegasus and Abraxian, yes, but not pony Pegasus.”

“Then wha’s tha’?” Hagrid jabbed a finger towards the scruffy black pony with wings.

Amos glanced sideways at Paddy. “I’m beginning to think it might be your daughter, Paddy. This make three impossible creatures.”

“Three?” Hagrid asked.

Paddy let his head fall back onto the mattress. “She’s got a fwooper and a jabberknoll that sing like canaries.”

“Say wha’ now?” Hagrid looked at Paddy.

Paddy didn’t answer, he just climbed to his feet and stumbled to the French doors that opened onto a large balcony. Opening them he called to his daughter.

“You can come in now, you and your feathered flock.” He rocked back a step as a blonde and feathery whirlwind exploded into motion, arms going around his waist while birds filled the doorway, even the hippogriff was crowding forward. “Easy, now.” He warned. “The poor thing is still hurt, she’ll heal, but potions can only do so much for magical creatures. The rest has to heal naturally.”

“Yes, Da. We’ll be good.” The mess of golden blonde hair whispered. It was echoed, by a tiny whistling chorus from a handful of snidgets, by a choppy rendition of ‘Happy Birthday to You’ from the jabberknoll, by a melodious tinkly ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ from the fwooper, a soft screech from the pyrehawk, a bobbing head from the Augurey and a chuckling trill from the hippogriff.

“In that case, you can come in, just be gentle, okay?” The last was directed at the hippogriff, who trilled, again and settled down, his front legs and head just inside the doors.

Hagrid’s eyes widened, but Amos just nodded, he’d been listening to Paddy talking about Titania’s collection of creatures, for months now. The snidgets settled in a row along the edge of the mattress, three on one side of Hagrid and four on the other. The Augurey, the jaberknoll and the fwooper fluttered across the room to the firescreen. The pyrehawk stayed on Titania’s shoulder as she went to her knees beside the Pegasus’ head, her fingers gently stroking its forelock.

“Will she be able to fly, Mr Hagrid?” Wide green eyes asked.

“She should be up and about by Easter.” Hagrid assured her.

“But she will be able to fly?” Titania begged.

“Yeah, she will. Might need to keep it to short flights and close to the ground for a while. But she should recover, just fine.” Hagrid patted her foot, which was all he could reach.

“Titania?” Amos asked.

“Yes, Mr Diggory?”

“Are you going to keep her?” Amos nodded at the quivering Pegasus.

“Of course, I am.” She replied indignantly.

“ ** _Amos! Amos!”_** Paddy’s voice was loud and clearly stressed.

“Paddy?” Amos didn’t get the chance to say anything before Paddy cut him off.

“I need someone from your office, someone from the DMLE and that Hagrid fellow, again.”

“What now…?” Amos asked.

“A bloody griffin cub, Amos. And someone’s tried to hack its wings off.” Came the snarling answer.

“Oh, hell. Give me five minutes and I’ll be there.” Amos didn’t wait but ran from the office.

Twenty minutes of frantic activity and Paddy finally looked away from the cub.

“Oh, hello, who are you?” He asked the deceptively frail old man and the black Auror.

“Newt Scamander. Who are you?” The first man replied.

“Nigel Patrick Grimmley, but call me Paddy, I won’t answer to Nigel.” Paddy held out a hand to the other man and the two shook.

“Kingsley Shacklebolt.” The second said, his hands full of quill and notebook. “I need a little information. Are we right to talk, now?” He’d started to ask earlier and been quickly shut down by Scamander.

“Yes, yes.” Scamander waved his hand and went back to watching the cub.

“Thanks. Who’s going to start?”

“I suppose that’s me.” Paddy said. “My daughter, Titania has a habit of collecting magical creatures. So far, she has a hippogriff, snidgets, a fwooper, an Augurey, a pyrehawk, a jabberknoll and a Pegasus pony.”

“And how did she come to find the griffin?” Shacklebolt asked.

“She was flying with the hippogriff.” Paddy answered. “They go out every morning, Steelbeak likes to play ‘chase the snitch’ with her, before breakfast. She came flying in, screaming her head off, while Steelbeak carried the cub.”

“To her bedroom?” Shacklebolt looked around what was clearly a girl’s room.

“Not the first time.” Amos said. “Back in March it was the pony Pegasus, out there.” Amos pointed to the balcony and the Auror blinked in surprise at the collection of creatures there.

“Right…” Shacklebolt shook his head a little and forced himself back to the subject at hand. “The hippogriff brought the cub in and… what next?”

“I took one look, threw a towel at Titania and told her to put it over the cub’s wounds and keep the pressure on them, ran for the floo and called Amos. And… well, here we are.” Paddy shrugged.

“Mr Scamander? How did you get involved in this?”

“My wife, Tina. She’s been sent over to give a seminar on… something to do with… magical forensics? I think that was it?”

“Tina?” Shacklebolt frowned.

“Tina. Porpentina Scamander, nee Goldstein.” Scamander explained.

“Ah, right, yes. I forgot that was happening.” Shacklebolt nodded and turned back Paddy. “And your daughter just… collects… creatures?”

“As far as we can ascertain, yes.” Paddy said. “But this is a bit much.”

“I agree, sir. I’d feel better if we could get a detailed Intent Scan, see if there’s anything drawing them here.” Shacklebolt said.

“How would we go about that?” Paddy asked.

“I’d have to make a floo-call, Intent Scans are really detailed and while I’ve done a basic one and found nothing, I’m not powerful enough to do a detailed one.” Shacklebolt shrugged. “For that we’d need Dumbledore or someone from the ICW’s R&C department.”

Paddy glanced over to Titania, who gave him a tiny nod, so slight that no-one else recognised it for what it was.

“I see.” Paddy said. “I think… it might be a good idea. I’d prefer to know exactly what’s going on.”

“In that case, Mr Grimmley? May I use your floo?” Shacklebolt asked.


	9. Chapter 9

_“I agree, sir. I’d feel better if we could get a detailed Intent Scan, see if there’s anything drawing them here.” Shacklebolt said._

_“How would we go about that?” Paddy asked._

_“I’d have to make a floo-call, Intent Scans are really detailed and while I’ve done a basic one and found nothing, I’m not powerful enough to do a detailed one.” Shacklebolt shrugged. “For that we’d need Dumbledore or someone from the ICW’s R &C department.”_

_Paddy glanced over to Titania, who gave him a tiny nod, so slight that no-one else recognised it for what it was._

_“I see.” Paddy said. “I think… it might be a good idea. I’d prefer to know exactly what’s going on.”_

_“In that case, Mr Grimmley? May I use your floo?” Shacklebolt asked._

Albus Dumbledore approached Paddy, Amos and Titania, as they sat on the patio overlooking the back yard. The young girl smiled as she looked at his deep plum coloured robes and mandarin-styled cap with folded brim, Dumbledore usually had the worst taste in clothes, but what he was wearing was almost sedate. Plush and extravagant, yes, but compared to the bright orange and purple robes that he wore for the Christmas feast in Harry’s sixth year, this ensemble was sedate.

Thank Merlin.

“Mr Grimmley?” Dumbledore twinkled at him. “Albus Dumbledore.”

“Headmaster Dumbledore.” Paddy nodded, he was a little hesitant to welcome the older wizard. They might have already been to Gringotts for testing, but that was decidedly different to opening his home, and access to his daughter, to the wizard who is arguably the greatest wizard in the country.

“Allow me to allay any fears. My detection charms have had a similar result to Auror Shacklebolt’s.” Dumbledore smiled his grandfatherly smile. “There are no animal summoning charms or wards. Nothing that would draw them in. Nothing in the wards, nothing on the land, nothing on the buildings. And most importantly… nothing on Miss Titania.” He paused. “I did find two Familiar Bonds, although currently, only one is active, while the other remains dormant.”

“Which means… what?” Paddy frowned. Familiar ** _s_**? **_Two_** familiars?

“With your permission, if Titania attends Hogwarts this coming school year, she will be permitted to bring her familiar, or familiars, with her.” Dumbledore answered. “If you like I may be able to assess the active bond, to determine which of her… friends that will be.”

“No, I’ve a fair idea who it’ll be.” Paddy sighed. “It’s going to be the pyrehawk and quite probably the dormant one is the griffin cub.”

“Ah. You’re aware of the bond, then?”

“Yeah, I figured it out when the hawk kept giving her feathers for quills. Blasted featherbrain nearly plucked himself naked, before I found a quill-grip that let her keep a feather for any length of time.” Paddy ran his hand over Titania’s head and held out a finger to the pyrehawk that was perched on her shoulder.

“Interesting. Few bird familiars bond that closely with their chosen person, that they’d give up feathers.” Dumbledore mused.

“Apollo gave me feathers before we bonded, Mr Headmaster.” Titania whispered, leaning against her father.

“Before?”

“Yes, sir. When I pulled him out of the pond, he gave me a wing feather and when I put him in my fireplace, he gave me a second one.” Titania answered.

“When she got the local blacksmith to make her a tall firedog and put that in the fireplace, he gave her a tail feather.” Paddy added.

“I see.” Dumbledore tilted his head as he studied both the girl and the bird. “Might I ask? Do you have a wand, yet?”

“Yes, sir.” Titania nodded. “Ash with thunderbird feather and claw.”

“Feather _**and**_ claw?” Dumbledore’s brows rose. “Most unusual to have a dual core.”

“It liked me.” Titania ducked her head and leant further into her father’s side.

“That is good to know. Thunderbird feather wands are notorious for being fickle, if it chose you, then it will likely never accept another, not while you live.” Dumbledore assured her. “Not even if someone were to try and force it.”

“Oh, okay.” Titania kept herself tucked into Paddy’s coat.

“Once you have activated your second familiar bond, I would suggest visiting a wandier, perhaps Madam Blishwick or Master Tingston. And ask if they would make you a second wand with dual cores from your familiars. It will likely pair well with your thunderbird wand.” Dumbledore added.

“Not until you’re older.” Paddy said. “I don’t want you losing control of a pair of custom wands, so maybe third or fourth year, but not before then.”

“As you say, Mr Grimmley.” Dumbledore nodded. “And that brings me back to schooling. After Auror Shacklebolt contacted me, I reviewed the enrolments for the coming school year and spoke briefly with Deputy Headmistress McGonagall, who is normally in charge of student notifications. As I was coming here, I volunteered to deliver Miss Titania’s placement letter. And I can authorise her bringing her familiars with her.”

“Not the cub, not yet.” Scamander shook his head as he joined them. “It’s too young to have around too many people.”

“Newt.” Dumbledore greeted his old student-turned-friend.

“Albus.” Newt gave him a tired smile and dragged the older wizard into a rough hug.

“You were saying?” Dumbledore asked as he stumbled back a step.

“The cub. It’s too young to have around too many people. Or for the bond to come in, strong enough for Titania to control it, if someone is aggressive towards her.” Newt said. “And first years get a bit of a ribbing.”

Paddy smothered a snort.

“Something amusing?”

“Oh, hell, yes.” Paddy laughed. “Anyone trying to rib this kid is in for a hard time.”

“And why is that?”

“Da calls me his princess of pranks.” Titania said, her smile looking more like a kneazle that had caught a snidget in its bowl of cream.

“Ah…” Dumbledore’s eyebrows rose.

Paddy laughed, a bright and cheery laugh, that for some reason had a familiar echo, to Dumbledore’s ears.

“She’s got the local lads, muggle and magical, all terrified of her.” Paddy explained. “Not afraid, as in, for fear of their lives. But more in, for fear of her talking to their mothers. Heaven knows what she’s got on them, but every so often, one will push her limits and embarrassment will ensue. Embarrassment for them, not her. No matter how much we know she’s responsible, we can’t pin anything on her.” He shook his head. “It’s frustrating, **_so_** frustrating. We can’t catch her in the setup or the take down, but we **_know_** she’s responsible.”

“And you never will, Da, never.” Titania threw an innocent smile at the three wizards.

“I see.” Dumbledore smiled. “I shall have to keep an eye out, then.”

“You can try.” Titania challenged.

Dumbledore threw his head back and laughed. “I shall enjoy the next few years.”

“No, you won’t.” Paddy said, as though he was only pretending to be serious, when in fact he was totally in earnest, Dumbledore was **_not_** going to enjoy the next few years at all.

“Hmm…” Dumbledore twinkled at the challenge. “Your letter, Miss Grimmley.”

“Thank you, Headmaster.” Titania accepted the parchment that was held out to her and tucked it into her pocket.

“Excellent.” Dumbledore beamed at them. “Shall I make a note that Miss Grimmley is bringing a Familiar with her?” 

“Yes, please. Just Apollo, though.” Paddy glanced down at his daughter. “I’ll keep the cub here, at least until he’s older. We’ll let Mr Scamander decide when he’d ready to join you. Okay?”

“Okay, Da.” Titania nodded.

“So, I assume that you’ll be keeping him, then, Titania?” Amos entered the conversation for the first time since Dumbledore arrived.

“Yes, please, Mr Diggory.” Titania nodded, again.

“And what are you going to call him?” Newt asked.

“Helios. Titan of the sun.” Titania answered, causing the four visiting wizards to blink in surprise.

“We’ve been studying ancient history and the Greek and Roman gods since late last year, hence the pyrehawk is Apollo and now the cub is Helios.” Paddy sighed.

“They’re the god and Titan of the sun.” Titania explained. “They’re the same, but different. Just like they will be for me. Both my Familiars, both just as important to me as each other but each of them will bring different things to our Bond.”

“Ah…” Dumbledore and Newt both made understanding sounds, while Amos hummed and Shacklebolt just nodded.

The summer flashed by as the father and daughter duo got ready for the start of the school year. Books were checked against the school listing and carefully placed in one of the trunks that they’d got from the Room of Requirement, along with a small portable potions cupboard and all the other items that were on the list.

After that it was clothes, uniforms and casual clothing, enough to last the girl throughout the whole year. Then books again, only this time it was novels and story books. They knew she wasn’t allowed a broom, but it was so tempting to try and sneak one in, Paddy wanted to but Titania wasn’t going to risk it.

Lastly, it was supplies for Apollo's care. Food, a spare firedog for the trunk’s fireplace. And that meant a floo-call to Dumbledore to explain that as Titania and Apollo needed a lit fireplace, all year round, Paddy had purchased a trunk that was expanded and contained that fireplace and would the Headmaster approve her keeping it? Approval was given and Titania beamed for a whole week. She had privacy, a fireplace for her beloved Apollo and a way to contact her father, if she needed it.

August 31st and Titania was bouncing around like a jackrabbit, not being able to focus on any one thing, for longer than a few minutes.

“Are you really looking forward to it that much?” Paddy asked. “To going to school?”

“Not the lessons, but the school? Yes.” Titania smiled, a wicked little smile. “I can’t wait to prank the twins.”

Paddy laughed, relaxing back into his chair. “So, what have you got planned for the red menaces?”

“I’m not telling you.” Titania said. “I’m taking no chances that anyone will know before it hits them.”

Paddy frowned. “Then how am I supposed to know what happened?”

“I’ll send you a memory for the pensieve.” The girl smirked.

“Ooh… ooh, yes, that will work nicely.” Paddy nodded. “And if they catch you?”

“They’ll know it was me, they’ll just never be able to prove it.” The girl laughed.

“Oh, dear…” Paddy sighed.


	10. Chapter 10

_“I’ll send you a memory for the pensieve.” The girl smirked._

_“Ooh… ooh, yes, that will work nicely.” Paddy nodded. “And if they catch you?”_

_“They’ll know it was me, they’ll just never be able to prove it.” The girl laughed._

_“Oh, dear…” Paddy sighed._

1st September 1992.

Paddy apparated he and his daughter, and her Familiar, to platform 9 ¾ early enough in the morning that they were fairly confident that the un-time-turned Dobby wouldn’t be looking for a Harry-Potter-that-was-no-longer-Harry-Potter-but-was-now-Titania-Grimmley and a way to block him/her from entering the platform. And sure enough, Titania was safely ensconced in a central carriage, talking to her father from the door, when four of the five Weasley children entered the platform.

“Time to go…” Paddy nodded to the next compartment. “You’d best get a seat, kitten.”

“Love you, Da.” Titania whispered in return.

“Same here, kitten.” Paddy gave her one last hug and stepped back. “Go on, now.”

“Yes, Da.” Titania smiled and blew him a kiss before turned and heading into the compartment that currently housed her trunk and Apollo, as he roosted on the luggage rack.

“Hello ickle firstie. Who are you?” The pair of identical, or almost identical, redheads looked on as she settled into the seat and the fiery coloured hawk flitted from the rack to her shoulder. “And who is that?”

“I am Titania Grimmley and this is my Bonded Familiar, Apollo.” Titania smiled at the pair.

“Bonded…” Said one twin.

“Familiar…” Said the second.

“According to Headmaster Dumbledore, yes.” Titania nodded.

“What sort of… Is it a hawk or a falcon?” The second twin asked, tilting his head enough for Titania to see the difference between he and his twin. He was Fred.

“Apollo is a he and he is a pyrehawk.” Titania corrected.

“Aren't they like phoenixes?” George asked. "Phoenixi? Phoenix-i?"

“A bit. Pyrehawks don’t die and get reborn like phoenixes but they do live longer than other hawks or falcons and one Bonded as a Familiar will live as long as their witch or wizard.” Titania answered.

“Wicked…” Fred whispered.

“What else?” Lee asked from the corner of the compartment.

“Apollo likes to sleep in a fireplace, I have to keep a fire lit all year round, even if it’s just embers and coals. He likes hot water and will often take a shower or bath with me.” Titania blushed as she told the older boys this. “He can set his feathers alight if he gets really angry or frightened, or if I get angry or frightened, he’ll react the same way. If he’s trying to protect me, he can spit little fireballs.”

“Like a dragon?” Fred asked, his eyes wide.

“Yeah, kind of. Not as rough, more like a ball of flames than a tongue or spout but he’s really good at aiming. He can hit a single flower on a bush, from ten feet away.” Titania said.

“And he’s really Bonded with you?” Fred was keen to find out if there was a chance that the bird was free.

“He is, he’s mine and I’m his.” Titania watched as Fred pouted a little.

“And are his feathers magical, like a phoenix’s?” George asked.

“Yes and no.” Titania said. “They are, but as he’s Bonded with me, I’m the only one that can access that magic. The Headmaster said that I should get a custom wand made using one of Apollo’s feathers as the core, but Da won’t let me do that until I’m in fourth year, he doesn’t want me losing control of a custom wand.”

“Ooh, no. Not good, that.” George grimaced. “Ken, our dormmate, got a custom wand in first year and… Yeah, losing control of a custom wand is bad.” Fred and Lee nodded with him.

“Don’t be doing that.” Lee warned.

“No. I won’t.”

“So, if he weren’t Bonded to you, anyone could use the magic his feathers hold?” Lee asked.

Titania shrugged. “Not really sure, but I think so. There’s so little known about their magic, it’s hard to say for sure. I do know that their feathers can make excellent quills but if you want to keep them for any length of time you should put them in a quill-grip, you can’t re-sharpen them, once they lose a point. And you can’t burn them, fire doesn’t do anything.”

“Huh…”

“What about…?” for the next few hours the three fourth year boys grilled Titania on her Familiar and when they found out about the collection of other magical birds that flocked to her, on them as well.

Titania remembered that Harry and Ron had taken the Weasley’s car and flew it to Hogwarts, but she didn’t react when Percy came through and told the twins that he couldn’t find Ron on the train. That gave her a break while the three boys went with him to do a more detailed search.

When they stumbled back in, a minute or two after it was announced that the Express was ten minutes from Hogwarts and dug around in their trunks for their robes, before heading off to the bathrooms to get changed. As they went out, Fred offered to lock the compartment, so that Titania could get changed in the compartment, she’d be able to unlock from the inside but no-one would be able to unlock it from the outside.

Seeing the castle lit up against a Scottish summer night’s sky was always something that Harry looked forward to and Titania was no different. It lifted her heart and Apollo, from his preferred perch on her shoulder, gave a quiet ‘ _scree’_ of transferred pleasure.

“Wow…” An awed Ginny Weasley was seated in front of Titania while a dreamy Luna Lovegood sat beside the once-Harry-Potter.

“It’s beautiful…” Luna whispered and clutched at Titania’s hand.

“It is.” Titania added, squeezing the other girl’s cold fingers.

Titania ignored McGonagall’s lecture on ‘your House is your family’ and focused more on the odd feeling she could sense emanating from the surrounding stones. It took a few minutes before Titania realised it was caution. The castle was warning the students that something was wrong, but it seemed that only Titania and Luna were aware of it.

“Do you feel the cold?” Luna asked. “Is it nargles or blibbering humdingers?”

“Neither.” Titania answered automatically. “No mistletoe, no nargles. No starfruit, no humdingers. You’ve got radishes for earrings and I’ve got Apollo. Nargles don’t like radishes and humdingers can’t stand fires.”

Luna’s eyes widened and her head slowly turned to look at Titania.

“You… You… Can you see them, too?” She asked.

“No.” Titania shook her head. “But that doesn’t mean that they’re not there.”

“Really?” Asked a boy with a sneer on his face.

“Really.” Titania answered. “Can you see the magic that those candles in the air?” She nodded through the open doors of the Great Hall lit by floating candles. “Or the magic that lets an owl know where to take a letter? Or what makes one wand choose you over another wand?”

“No…” The boy ducked his head a little.

“No, neither can I, but Mr Ollivander can see which wand suits which person and Headmaster Dumbledore can see the strands of magic that hold the candles and my Da says that owl trainers can see which owls are better for post owls and which are better for pets.” Titania said. “Just because **_I_** can’t see it, doesn’t mean **_someone_** else can’t. We haven’t even started learning about magic, how can we say something doesn’t exist? For all we know, the herbology teacher might grow nargles as pets.”

Luna snickered. “I hope not. My daddy says, they like to make a play in the dragon dung.”

“Ew…” The boy screwed up his nose.

“Okay, maybe not.” Titania nodded. “But you get what I mean.”

“Yeah, I get it.” The boy nodded and nudged Titania to turn her to the front of the hall and McGonagall.

The witch was tapping the scroll in her hand against her other hand in an obvious gesture of impatience.

“Gather round.” McGonagall said. “Thank you. When I call your name, you will come forth and I shall place the sorting hat upon your head and you shall be sorted into your houses.” She lifted the hat as she spoke and turned to check the first name on the sheet of parchment in her hand.

“Michelle Bailey.”

A black-haired girl glided forward with the grace of a dancer and sat delicately on the stool

“Slytherin.”

“Amber Bryson.”

A plump girl with light brown hair glanced shyly at her year mates as she moved between them to reach the stool.

“Hufflepuff.” The hat called.

“Timothy Caldwell.” McGonagall’s gaze moved over the unsorted students

The boy that had been talking to Titania and Luna gave them a weak smile. “That’s me.” He whispered as he eased forward.

“Ravenclaw.” The hat called.

“Colin Creevey.”

A blonde boy stumbled forward with his head ducked and sat on the stool beside McGonagall.

“Hmm… Gryffindor.” The hat called and the boy bounced to his feet and scurried over to sit in a vacant place at the Gryffindor table.

“Titania Grimmley.” McGonagall said as Caldwell made his way to the blue and grey bedecked table.

“What have we here…?” Titania heard at the hat landed on her head.

“Good evening, hat.” Titania said and opened her mind to the hat.

“Oh, my…” The hat whispered. “You have… well, I never… that is… my goodness… I… well…” The hat stammered.

“Yeah…” Titania sighed.

“Well… it seems that you knew where you were going to be sorted before your used those turners. I assume that you’ll be putting them back so that Potter can summon them?”

“Yes, Dobby will do that tonight. I don’t have to do anything other than have a note ready for Harry, next year.”

“I see… Well, in that case… **Gryffindor**.” The last word was said aloud, not just in Titania’s mind.

“Thank you, hat.” The blonde girl said as she danced off to the Gryffindor table and plopped herself down into the vacant spot beside Fred.

More names were called and more students sorted, until finally it was Luna’s turned.

“Luna Lovegood.” McGonagall called.

Luna edged away from the now small group of unsorted firsties and sat on the stool, looking at Titania with worried eyes. The hat opened its mouth and closed it, seconds passed before the hat opened its mouth again.

“Gryffindor.” It said, and Luna bounced over to sit beside Titania.

“Silly old hat.” The newest lion said. “It wanted to put me in Ravenclaw but **_I_** wanted to stay with my friends.”

“And you told it that?” Titania asked.

“I did.” Luna nodded. “It said, if I was prepared to argue with it, I was brave enough to be a lion.”

“You argued with the hat?” Fred asked leaning towards them.

“No-one argues with the hat.” George added.

“I did.” Luna nodded, watching the last few unsorted students waiting for McGonagall to call their names.

“Yeah, you belong in Gryffindor, then.” Fred said.

“Michael Apsley.” The Professor called and a tall, for eleven, boy left Ginny and another girl, to sit on the stool.

“Ravenclaw.” The hat said.

“Ginevra Weasley.” McGonagall said.

Ginny moved forward, glancing at her brothers for reassurance but only managing to spot Fred, George and Percy. Where was Ron?

“Gryffindor.” The hat said and Ginny joined the Gryffindor table, sitting opposite Titania and Luna.

“Hi.” The redhead grinned, her face already showing the strain of having used the diary.

“Lacy McCloud.” The girl responded to the call and sat on the stool. The hat’s mouth opened and closed.

While it was discussing whatever it was with the girl, Titania looked around the Gryffindor table, wondering at the absence of Ron Weasley, until she remembered that this was Ron and Harry’s second year. The year of Dobby. Dropped cakes, closed platforms and rogue bludgers. Maybe she would be better off to have ‘her’ Dobby not bring the time-turners back yet? No, better to get it over with, wouldn’t want to forget and have to do it seconds before Harry called for them.

“Hufflepuff.” The hat sighed.

“Well, that’s done.” Fred said.

“Where’s Ron?” Ginny asked causing her brothers to look up and down the table.

“Oh, shit.” George groaned.

“We couldn’t find Ron or Harry on the train.” Percy added. “They’ll be in detention until next year.” 

“Not to mention mum…” Fred muttered.

“Oh, shit.” Ginny whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

_“Where’s Ron?” Ginny asked causing her brothers to look up and down the table._

_“Oh, shit.” George groaned._

_“We couldn’t find Ron or Harry on the train.”_ _Percy added._ _“They’ll be in detention until next year.”_

_“Not to mention mum…” Fred muttered._

_“Oh, shit.” Ginny whispered._

Entering the Gryffindor girls’ dorms was quite different from the boys’ dorms. Apparently, girls were expected to require a little more privacy, instead of putting all five girls in one room, they were given small rooms, two girls to a room. Luna looked at Titania with a begging expression and beamed when Titania nodded.

The two bounced over to the first door to the left and tapped their wands on it to add their names to the door-tag.

In the room, Titania turned to Luna. “So…?”

“Hello, Titania.” Luna smiled. “Is it strange to be a girl after being a boy for so long?”

“Well, that answered that question…” Titania snorted. “No, it’s not, strangely enough, but Da did have to charm me for the first week, after that…? I like it.”

“So, why wasn’t Harry on the train?” Luna asked.

“The barrier to the muggle side of the station closed, a rogue house-elf.” Titania said as she unshrunk her trunk and placed it against a wall.

“But why?”

“There’s something happening this year, something bad.” Titania answered.

“Really?” Luna tilted her head in thought. “I thought the only thing to happen this year was going to be Ginny and the big snake.”

“Yeah, but that’s going to be bad for some people.” Titania said.

“But not for you or me.” Luna said.

“No, not for us.” Titania agreed. “As long as we stay near Ginny in the halls and away from Hermione, we’ll be fine.”

“Okay, then.” Luna tapped her trunk and unshrunk it, setting it at the foot of her bed. “I like your trunk.”

“Thanks. Wanna see inside?”

“Ooh, yes please.” Luna bounced over to Titania.

October had Titania keeping a watch on Ginny, where the redhead went and when. She wasn’t about to land herself in the hospital wing through carelessness. She wasn’t exactly certain when Ginny opened the Chamber for the first time, but she knew that the first petrification, that of Mrs Norris, happened on Halloween, and made certain that she and Luna stayed with a group of other Gryffindors for the day, even so going so far as to participate in the dreaded Halloween Feast. She might not be Harry Potter, anymore, but Halloween was still not her favourite day.

The twins attended the Feast bedecked in green and silver tinsel, instead of their usual red hair, a punishment for targeting a group of firsties with their pranks. The pair had woken with silver and green tinsel as hair with delicate gold and red baubles tied in it. The baubles might have been removable but the tinsel seemed set to stay. At breakfast that day, they’d been chided by McGonagall for their appearance, at least until an owl delivered a letter stating that their decorations were courtesy of the Princess. It just didn’t say which Princess.

November saw Colin Creevey petrified and for the first time, Titania realised that keeping her and Luna safe from the basilisk might not be as easy as following Ginny. The day that Colin was caught, Titania and Luna had very nearly followed Ginny into the girls’ bathroom that held the entrance to the Chamber, it was only because they were some twenty or thirty yards away and had just rounded the corner from the stair and saw Ginny enter the bathroom that caused Titania to put the clues together and baulk. She grabbed Luna and hastily dragged her back to the common room and to their room, the two girls shaking with fright at how close they’d came to facing the monster.

It was only an hour later that the house was informed about Colin’s fate.

A lengthy floo-call with Paddy and a study of Harry memories in the Room of Requirement had the girls rearranging their plans, instead of following Ginny they stuck with the other firsties or with Hermione, now knowing that Hermione wouldn’t be caught by the basilisk until early May.

Just a few days before the express headed back to London, for Christmas, the first meeting of the duelling club was held and both Titania and Luna went, the two hung back by the door, as far away from the platform as they could get. This was also the first time that Titania got a good look at Harry Potter.

Her brows rose, this was definitely not the Harry that she’d been. Like the Ron and Hermione here, Harry wasn’t the same as she knew him to be. This Harry had dark red streaks in his hair and instead of green eyes he had brightest golden-brown ones. The shape might be the same as what she remembered the colour wasn’t. The other thing that emphasised that she wasn’t in the world she’d been born into, was that this Harry’s scar wasn’t the familiar lightening bold but an Uruz rune, **‘** **ᚢ’** , signifying power or gateways, depending on which way you took it as written. From Harry’s point of view it was power by from external point of view, it was a gateway.

Rather apt, Titania thought but it made her want to know what happened to this world’s Harry, that allowed her-as-Harry to take his place.

Lockhart the Incompetent, as he had come to be called by the students of the D.A, pitted Harry and Draco against and again, Draco summoned the same large black snake, Titania thought it might have been a cobra but wasn’t certain, and again Harry spoke parseltongue and stopped the snake from attacking Justin Finch-Fletchley. This lead to Harry being ostracised by the students, Hermione and Ron being among the few standing by their friend.

But what spooked Titania was that she hadn’t understood the snake’s hissing, nor had she heard the basilisk in the pipes. Another floo-call with Paddy was needed before the three conspirators came to a conclusion. It was one of three things. Harry entering the Veil removed the ability. Having the horcrux removed during the de-aging process, just before Titania became Titania, removed it. Or…? It was truly an ability inherited from either James Potter or Lily Evans.

Regardless of which it was, Titania Dorea Grimmley wasn’t a parselmouth. Another step of divergence between her and Harry Potter, that would help once Harry vanished.

The thought of Harry vanishing caused a minor concern in the trio. What would happen when Harry was discovered missing? Would the letters that had been written, before he took the conversion potions, be given to the appropriate people, or would Dumbledore try to stop that from happening?

Justin was found beside the floating but frozen form of Nearly Headless Nick, just a day later, cementing in the students’ minds that Harry must be responsible for the Chamber’s opening and the subsequent petrifications.

Both Titania and Luna decided that going home for the holidays was a wise move and when the sign-up sheet for the holidays went up, the two were quick to put their names down. Titania knew that Christmas was going to be an uncomfortable time in Gryffindor Tower and wanted no part in it.

January through April were quiet, not petrifications, no scares, no basilisks.

Moments before Madam Hooch opened the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff quidditch match in May, the game was cancelled and the news spread.

Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater had been petrified.

The information went around the school in minutes. There was no way that Potter could have been responsible, he would never have harmed his best friend and everyone knew it. Add to the fact that he’d been at the quidditch pitch with the rest of the team when it happened.

No. Harry Potter was not the Heir of Slytherin. Much to the Slytherin students relief.

Titania also knew that this were the last petrifications for the year, that in just a few weeks Harry and Ron would have enough information to undertake the daring rescue of Miss Ginevra Weasley.

Ginny was quiet after she, Lockhart, Ron and Harry returned from the Chamber, flinching at quick movements or loud noises. And while Titania and Luna were sympathetic, they weren’t terribly concerned, either. They both knew that eventually, Ginny would get over it, Titania remembered Ginny in Harry’s sixth year and Luna’s gift let her ‘see’ possible futures and all of them saw Ginny recovered. But that didn’t mean that the young redhead escaped punishment. Ginny had been warned a number of times, ‘if you don’t know where an interactive item keeps its brain, don’t interact with it’. The lecture from her eldest brother was overheard by the two blondes and both agreed that neither of them would talk to anyone that didn’t already know about the situation.

Both girls felt that having a celebration feast in regard to the return of the four students and Hagrid, was going a bit far, but agreed with Paddy that the entire school needed to let go of a bit of pressure and decided that the twins needed to be pranked again.

As the two brothers left the Great Hall, their clothes changed.

Pink bled through their clothes, starting at the ground and working its way up their socks to their trousers, to their robes and on to their hair, finally a burst of glittering smoke exploded from their hair and spread to those near them. Glittering explosions spread around the Hall, only those quick enough to throw up protego-based shields escaped. Neither Titania or Luna even tried, they didn’t mind being brightly coloured.

An owl dropped into the shocked silence that descended and left a letter with the Headmaster.

“It seems as though the Princess has struck again.” He said as passed the letter to Professor Snape.

“It does, indeed.” He rather enjoyed seeing the pair of redheads fall victim to another prankster. “Although… it does say here… Princesses of Pranks. Mistress Goldfeather and Mistress Icewing.”

“Really?” Dumbledore’s brows rose and he quickly re-read the letter. “Well, I missed that. Thank you, Severus.”

“If only we could give them points.” Professor Flitwick sighed.

“If only we could catch them.” Dumbledore muttered. “Oh, well… I was warned.”

“Warned?” Snape asked.

“Oh, yes. I’ve a fair idea of the identity of one of the Princesses but catching her or proving is going to be next to impossible, I’m afraid.”

“Why?” Snape frowned.

“She’s that good. Her father’s been trying to catch her for years, so have many other parents in their village. All in vain.” He’d stopped by the village and talked to a few people, the responses many and varied, although most were amused, a few were disgruntled at never being able to prove the girl had been involved.

“Sounds like Black, Lupin, Potter and Pettigrew.” Snape muttered. “Without the malignant intentions.”

“Yes, she does. I’ve been doing some research and I do believe that she may be related to Black and distantly to Lupin.” Dumbledore said.

“Black?” Snape sneered. “Typical.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Dumbledore disagreed. “From my research, the young lady that is the instigator behind this, is the descendant of a Black disowned in the 1920’s.”

“And the Lupin connection?” Snape demanded.

“Via her mother. I’m not as proficient tracing muggle families, but I think that the young lady and Remus shared a maternal ancestor back in the later 1890’s. I could be mistaken, though, tracing is not nearly as easy in the muggle world as it is in the magical.” Dumbledore.

“But you’re not going to tell us who she is?” Professor Flitwick had been listening in.

“No, not without some sort of proof.” Dumbledore objected.

“The letter?” Flitwick gestured.

“No, not sufficient.” Snape shook his head. “Lily and I were responsible for a number of pranks in our seventh year, but the idiots claimed they’d done them. That letter could be just such a claim.”

“A claim with no substance.” Flitwick nodded.

“No substance and no proof.” Snape added.

“Then can we be certain that the Weasley twins were not responsible?” Flitwick asked.

“Given the expressions on their faces and their reactions? Yes, I think that we can.” Snape replied.

“So, someone is targeting our pranksters and while the Princesses are claiming it was them, there is nothing to prove that they are responsible?” Flitwick hung his head and sighed.

“Precisely.” Snape muttered.

“Oh, dear Merlin…” Flitwick moaned.

“It shall be interesting to see what happens between now and the twins’ graduation.” Dumbledore chuckled. “At least, if we can’t prove who the Princesses are the twins won’t be able to. I would hope so, anyway.”

“Oh, hell, no…” Snape snapped.

“I could be far worse, Severus.” Dumbledore twinkled merrily.

“How?” Snape demanded.

“The Princesses could decide to work with the twins.”

Both Snape and Flitwick looked at the Headmaster in alarm.

“Don’t say that. Don’t _**ever**_ say such a thing. Never!” Snape rose to his feet before leaning down. “I hope I never hear such a thing again.”

“I agree, that would disastrous.” Flitwick paused before he moaned. “Would the school even be left standing?”

At that Dumbledore showed the first sign of concern.


	12. Chapter 12

_“It could be far worse, Severus.” Dumbledore twinkled merrily._

_“How?” Snape demanded._

_“The Princesses could decide to work with the twins.”_

_Both Snape and Flitwick looked at the Headmaster in alarm._

_“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say such a thing. Never!” Snape rose to his feet before leaning down. “I hope I never hear such a thing again.”_

_“I agree, that would disastrous.” Flitwick paused before he moaned. “Would the school even be left standing?”_

_At that Dumbledore showed the first sign of concern._

31st July 1993.

The Daily Prophet and a selection of muggle newspapers all blared the escape of Mass Murderer Sirius Black. Paddy and Titania both sighed as they read the Ministry’s announcement.

“That’s a little different from what I remember.” Paddy said.

“This Sirius doesn’t seem to be as… sane as you.” Titania said.

“No. No, I don’t think he was.” Paddy agreed. “I studied the Map. The one you got from the… local Harry. It’s different from ours.”

“How?”

“The layout, for one.” Paddy said. “Ours was a long narrow piece of parchment, with a few lift-up inserts. This one is a much larger sheet. More… square, than rectangular. Each building in one quarter, layered by floor. We had it layered by floor but had the entire castle footprint in one go, not building by building.”

“Huh…”

“Plus…” Paddy trailed off.

“Plus?” Titania asked.

“Their names? They’re not the same.”

“Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauders’ Map.” Titania said.

“Misters Moony, Whiptail, Padfoot and Spikes are proud present the Corsairs’ Map.” Paddy corrected.

“What?!” Titania gasped. “The Corsairs? Whiptail? Spikes?”

“I did a little bit of subtle digging, in the Ministry archives.” Paddy sighed. “The Corsairs were animagi, like the Marauders, but they were registered. Moony isn’t a werewolf, here he’s a wolf Animagus. Peter is still a rat but he’s not a plain garden rat, he’s a Black Viking Rat, they’re the only magical rat, like kneazles are magical cats. And they’re nearly twice the size of garden rats. Sirius Black wasn’t a Grimm, his Animagus form was that of a Scottish Deerhound. James Potter’s was a stag, but unlike Prongs, he wasn’t a Red deer, but a Sika deer. Sikas were introduced from the Far East, mostly China and Japan, while Red deer naturally migrated from Europe, during the stone age.”

“The differences aren’t big, but they’re clear.” Titania said. “If you know what to look for.”

“If you know what to look for.” Paddy agreed.

August 1993

Luna and Titania stood side-by-side, listening carefully to Paddy as he explained the practicalities of the Patronus charm.

“Theory is all well and good, but you need the practical knowledge far more than you need the theory.” Paddy said.

“Don’t I know it?” Titania huffed. “I never really understood the theory, but that didn’t stop me from being able to cast it. What I need it to be able to control the animal that appears, when I do.”

“I know, kitten.” Paddy nodded. “First thing we’ll do is check that it hasn’t changed. You do know that a major emotional event can cause it to change, right?”

Titania nodded. “I know. And while I hope it has… I also hope it hasn’t. It’s my last link to the Potters.”

“You’ll never really lose them.” Luna said, a soft smile on her lips. “They’re in your heart and they’ll always be there.”

“Luna’s right, kitten.” Paddy whispered. “You may have taken a conversion potion to become my daughter, but in your heart James and Lily are your mum and dad, just as much as I’m your Da. You know the rules – no take-backs, no return to senders accepted.”

“Oh, Da.” Titania shook her head. “You are such a Marauder.” She huffed.

“Of course, I am. And proud of it.” Paddy huffed right back at her.

“Expecto patronum.” Titania laughed as she cast and caught her breath as mist formed and grew into a recognisable shape.

“That’s… what **_is_** that?” Titania frowned.

“That’s a Gryfflix…” Luna whispered in awe.

“A what?” Titania looked at the other blonde, not sure she really wanted to know.

“A Gryfflix. They were hunted to extinction centuries ago.” Paddy said. “A Gryfflix is a hybrid, usually lion or tiger crossed with an eagle. More cat than eagle, but it can fly. It can also tuck the wings away, magically, to look like a cat. Their feathers are supposed to be almost as magically powerful as a phoenix’s.” He frowned. “But yours is different… It looks more like… a leopard than a lion. It also looks very much like what I saw when you took the Animagus potion.”

“Are you going to teach us to be Animagi?” Luna asked.

“Let’s get through this year, then if your father agrees, I’ll teach you.” Paddy replied.

“Expecto patronum.” Luna said calmly and watched as mist left her wand and formed the familiar shape of a hare.

“Very nice, Luna.” Paddy smiled.

“Thank you, Uncle Paddy.” Luna beamed back. “It reminds me of my mummy.”

“I’m glad, little moon.” Paddy’s smile softened. “I wonder what your Animagus form would be?” He mused.

“I’m a honey dove.” Luna replied.

“Titania made you drink the Animagus potion, didn’t she?” Paddy shook his head in amusement.

“Of course, she did.” Luna nodded. “And she pranked the twins into drinking it, too.”

“Of course, she did.” Paddy sighed. “What were they?”

“They’re both Red Magma Kites.” Luna laughed. “They changed in the Great Hall and flew up to the rafters and were stuck there when they shifted back.”

“Dumbledore approached me later and asked what spell I used to turn them into birds.” Titania chuckled. “He was most amused when I said that there was no spell but maybe the twins should pay more attention to what they ate and drank.”

“Oh, Merlin…” Paddy closed his eyes and sighed.

“He laughed and said, ‘I’m sure many people would say the same, however I doubt that they would have the gumption to follow through on such a thought.’ Of course, I commented, ‘And can you prove that I did?’ He laughed, again and wandered off.”

“Oh, Merlin…” Paddy sighed, again.

1st September 1993

As the two girls boarded the Express, Paddy pressed a small necklace into each girls’ hand.

“Take these, wear them at all times. Even in the bathroom. Tell your dormmates that they’re a gift from me.” He said.

“What are they, Da?” Titania asked.

“They’re just a necklace and pendant, you can change the pendant if you want but the clasp is engraved with a rune sequence that will… not quite repel dementors… more like, make you less interesting to them.”

“Do the guards at Azkaban wear these?” Titania asked.

“No, these aren’t as strong as theirs. Theirs have repel the dementors completely.” Paddy answered.

“But these will just make us uninteresting?” Titania confirmed.

“Yes.” Paddy nodded. “Along with your patroni you shouldn’t have any trouble, but I’d stay within the main areas of the castle until they’re withdrawn.”

“We will, Da.”

“Well, hello there, ickle secondie.” A boy’s voice came from the carriage’s hall, closely followed by a pair of redheads and a chocolate-skinned boy. “Oh. Sorry. I didn’t realise you still had family with you.” The first redhead turned to Paddy. “Hi, you must Titania’s father.” He bravely held out a hand.

“Da, this is Fred Weasley.” Titania nodded to the boy. “That’s his twin, George.” She jerked her thumb at the second redhead. “And this is Lee Jordan, their dormmate.” She waved to the third boy.

“Ah, the pranksters that are getting pranked, right?” Paddy shook hands with each of them.

George said nothing, just whined slightly.

Fred grunted,

Lee laughed. “That’s us.”

“Titania says you’re all in Gryffindor? Fifth year, right?” Paddy asked and when the three nodded, he went on. “Good to know. Last year was a bit rough on the girls, so I’d appreciate it if you’d keep an eye out for them. Luna tends to get a little lost in her books and Titania’s not much better.”

“We will.” Fred eyed the two girls, as they stood in the carriage’s door.

“Thanks, lads. After last year, who knows what will happen this year? I’d much rather plan for the worst and be pleasantly surprised, than loose my daughter.” Paddy said seriously.

“We’ll do our best.” George added. “They’re in Ginny’s dorm, but we see far more of them, than we do her. I think she’s embarrassed to hang out with us.”

“I think she’s too busy making calf-eyes at Harry to bother with us.” Fred corrected.

“Either way… She doesn’t hang out with us and we have lots of time to spend with Luna, Titania and Apollo.” Lee ignored the bickering twins.

“They’d happily take Apollo and forget Luna and me.” Titania told her father, mockingly.

“Oi!” The twins squawked.

“Never mind, lads, you don’t get one without the other.” Paddy laughed. “Now, you’d best get a move on, or all the compartments will be taken.”

“Nah.” Lee said. “I got here early enough to put my stuff in our usual compartment.”

“Third from the end of this carriage?” Titania asked.

“That’s the one.” Lee nodded and dragged the twins with him, as he left the girls to say goodbye.

“Da? Da?!” Titania called through the flames of Apollo’s fireplace.

“Kitten?” Paddy called back. “You alright?”

“Yes, Da.” Titania replied. “We were far enough away from Harry’s carriage and the necklaces worked well enough, that we had no real problems. The twins made sure we had some chocolate and Professor Lupin stuck his head in long enough to check that we were all okay.”

“You saw Moony?” Paddy blinked in surprise. “How different is he?”

“Not at all.” Titania answered. “He looked exactly the same, sounded exactly the same and acted exactly the same.”

“Hmm…”

“There’s a flock dementors circling the school, outside the grounds. Dumbledore’s not letting them cross the wards.” Titania said.

“Will they?”

“Yeah, but not until November. Not until after Sirius Black breaks into the tower on Halloween. The Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match, it was supposed to be Slytherin but Malfoy will play on the injury he got by insulting Buckbeak.”

“Right.” Paddy’s head in the fire nodded. “How are you dealing with the cold?”

“It’s not too bad. Hats and scarves are going to be needed a little earlier than usual this year, though. I’m going to start knitting straight away.” Titania replied. “Luna said she’ll help with the scarves, but she’s no good at hats.”

“You could add some protection charms to them, maybe some warming charms? Want me to send along a book on dressmaking charms and runes?” Paddy asked.

“Yes, please, Da.” Titania nodded. “I’m thinking runes embroidered with a label sewn over them.”

“That would work for the hats, but not so well for the scarves.” Paddy objected. “Try adding them as a decorative border at each end of a scarf.”

“Ooh, I could match them up. A scarf and hat, done in matching colours with matching designs and the rune work would just look like a fair-isle feature.” Titania breathed in inspiration.

“How long does it take you to knit a set?” Paddy asked.

“Five days. Two for the hat and three for a decent length scarf.” Titania answered.

“And how much are you going to charge for them?”

“Depends.” Titania shrugged. “On the yarn, the design and whether it’s a single piece or a set. A hat would start at ʛ2 and go up to ʛ5. A set? Start at ʛ5 and go up to ʛ10. Custom or commission work is much the same. Dependant on the same factors.”

“You already ordered the labels, didn’t you? Or do I have to do that?”

“Done, Da. I even have them with me, along with a good supply of yarn in a stasis cupboard in my trunk. Along with all the stuff that we did over the holidays.”

“Alright, then.” Paddy nodded. “There’s not much else you can do, right now.”

“Nope. We just have to wait.” Titania sighed. “I miss you, Da, and it’s only been one day.”

“Same here, kitten. Put your names down for Christmas, Luna will be staying with us. Xeno wants to go to New Zealand looking for some sort of crystal spider and he’s not sure if he’ll be back in time. I suggested that he write up a Crisis Guardian Substitution contract, just in case Dumbledore objects. We’re doing that in the morning at Gringotts, so fair warning, Luna might get a Gringotts letter and possibly a meeting with McGonagall.”

“I’ll let her know, Da.”

1st November 1993

“Uncle Paddy?” Luna called into the flames.

“Luna? What’s wrong? Where Titania?” Paddy asked, worried for his daughter.

“She’s in the shower, Uncle Paddy.” Luna replied and Paddy allowed himself to relax. “I said I’d call you and update you, then when she gets out, I’ll have bath and you two can chat.”

“Oh, lovely.” Paddy sighed. “Thank you, Luna, thank you.” He sat back, summoning a cushion to sit on, making sure to keep the connection open. “Go ahead.”

“It’s Halloween. Says it all. Sirius Black entered the castle, he tried to get into Gryffindor but the Fat Lady wouldn’t let him. He slashed up her painting real bad and took off. We had to sleep in the great for the night, while the teachers searched the castle.”

“Did they find anything?”

“No, nothing.” Luna answered. “We did hear Professor Snape talking with Professor Dumbledore, though.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, Professor Snape was trying to convince him that Harry should be warned, but while Headmaster agreed that he probably should, it wasn’t going to happen.”

“Did he say why?” Paddy asked.

“No, but we didn’t expect him to.” Luna replied.

“I’m here.” Titania flopped onto a cushion beside Luna.

“Kitten, you’re okay?” Paddy asked.

“Of course, Da.” Titania assured her father.

“I’ll leave you to finish up while I have bath.” Luna smiled and pulled away from the flames.

“Happy bathing.” Paddy laughed.

“Thanks, Uncle Paddy.” Luna called as she left the trunk.

“So, interesting night?”

“It was actually.” Titania said. “I learnt something very interesting.”

“Yeah…?”

“I remember Snape as vehemently against Moony being hired to teach DADA.”

“Yeah…?”

“Not this Snape. Apparently, McGonagall was the one to suggest Moony and Snape didn’t even put up a single objection.”

“W-what?” Paddy spluttered.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.” Titania said.

“How did you find that out?”

“I listened, Da.” She shook her head. “In the Great Hall, Snape and Dumbledore were talking and when Moony joined them, there was no… animosity, no… nothing really. They weren’t friends but they weren’t enemies, either. Just work colleagues, nothing more.”

“Huh…”

“And it was a full moon, but cause this Moony isn’t a werewolf, he was part of the search in the castle.”

“And still, no-one found Black.” It wasn’t a question but Titania answered it, anyway.

“No, no-one found a sign of him. Not that they would have, Hermione’s kneazle was helping him. It will be Crookshanks that will get him the passwords to the common room in February. And help him get into the Whomping Willow’s passage to the Shack.”

“I’d forgotten that.” Paddy snorted at the memory of following the ugly ginger beastie.

7th November 1993

“Da?” Titania called into the flames.

“Titania?” Paddy answered. “Are you alright? No problems with the potion?”

“No, Da, it worked fine.” Titania replied. “Luna and I dosed ourselves and a couple of the other lions. Not the quidditch team, though. We all spent the day in the hospital wing, being cosseted by Madam Pomfrey. She only released us a few minutes ago, I think she had more to worry about when Professor McGonagall and the team brought Harry in, he passed out from the dementors, but still caught the snitch. I can’t talk long, dinner is in a few minutes and the twins are waiting for Luna and me to get changed.”

“Alright.” Paddy nodded. “Off you go, then. Call me tomorrow evening, after things have quietened down.”

“Yes, Da. Love you.” Titania stood and pulled her sticky jumper over her head and reached for a change of clothes.

19th November 1993

Luna and Titania settled themselves down on the stairs of the Clock Tower, a weak notice-me-not shielding them from watching eyes. Titania wanted to make sure that the twins gave Harry the Marauders’ Map, or the Corsairs’ Map, as the local version was called. They watched as the dark-haired boy, looked cautiously around the ground floor for staff or students, slightly alarmed when he didn’t even bother looking at the stairs. After checking for spectators, Harry pulled out his cloak, before flinging it over his shoulders and making for the courtyard. A flick of a disembodied wrist and his floating head vanished.

Across the courtyard, the twins fiddled with a snowman. To Titania and Luna, it was clear they were waiting for something and that something, was Harry. They scooped their arms through his and dragged the struggling, but still invisible, boy into the tower and pushed him onto the stairs, a flight-and-a-half below the two girls.

Neither girl paid that much attention to what was said, they were more concerned with ensuring that no-one overheard the three boys. And given that Professor Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey were making their way from the hospital wing to the courtyard, obviously intending to go to Hogsmeade themselves, there was cause for caution.

Seconds passed before the twins and Harry parted ways, the twins going back to their snowman and Harry heading back into the castle. The One-Eyed Witch’s statue was in Turris Magnus and stood on the landing for the third floor, the passage hidden under the statue would take Harry straight to the cellar of Honeydukes.

The girls debated for a bit, snowman or snowball fight? A cheeky grin from Titania and a snicker from Luna and the two carefully slid out into the courtyard, doing their best to not let the twins see them. Five minutes spent packing snow into drifts and the girls attacked.

Splat!

Thump.

Splat!

Whump.

First one redhead, then the second redhead found themselves buried under a large amount of loose snow that had been levitated across the courtyard. The twins dragged themselves out from under what could only be called a snowdrift.

“What the hell …”

“…was that?” They swore.

They were answered by girlish giggles, and a pair of blonde heads peeked around the edge of the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

“You don’t think they…?” One twin asked, eyeing the two girls.

“I do think they did.” The second said, as he shook the snow from his hair.

“You know what that means?” The first asked.

“Snow fight.” The second nodded.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning - don't forget the tissues, you're going to need them.

_Splat!_

_Thump._

_Splat!_

_Whump._

_First one redhead, then the second redhead found themselves buried under a large amount of loose snow that had been levitated across the courtyard. The twins dragged themselves out from under what could only be called a snowdrift._

_“What the hell …”_

_“…was that?” They swore._

_They were answered by girlish giggles, and a pair of blonde heads peeked around the edge of the fountain in the middle of the courtyard._

_“You don’t think they…?” One twin asked, eyeing the two girls._

_“I do think they did.” The second said, as he shook the snow from his hair._

_“You know what that means?” The first asked._

_“Snow fight.” The second nodded._

6th February 1994

Titania and Luna looked at each other, eyes wide.

“That’s…” Titania started.

“Desperate?” Luna asked.

“Yes, very. And not what I remember.”

“What do you remember?”

“Black only slashed the curtains, not the mattress and pillow, too.” Titania whispered. Paddy had suggested calling the local version of Sirius Black by his surname, much the same as the wizarding public were, and Titania’s father, prior to his conversions, was to be called ‘Padfoot’. It was the easiest way they had found to differentiate between the two versions of the one man.

“Why do you think he did it?” Luna asked.

“I don’t think Black is as sane as Padfoot was.” Titania sighed. “Everything he’s done as been a little bit… wilder.”

“Do you think he spent too much time in his Animagus form?”

“No, Padfoot spent just as much. I think it’s more likely that Black is more affected by the Black Family Madness than Padfoot was.” Titania guessed.

Luna tilted her head as she considered that. “Yes, that would make more sense. I mean, look at Bellatrix Lestrange.”

“One Black in each sub-family, in each generation, is affected worse than their siblings. In Padfoot’s case it was Regulus.” Titania nodded. “But here? It seems to be the eldest child.”

“So…? How is that going to affect your plans?” Luna asked.

“It won’t.” Titania replied. “Harry will go after him because he takes Ron and then learns the truth. Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, not Black. Harry and Black will be targeted by the dementors and Black recaptured. Harry and Hermione will rescue him, then send him off on Buckbeak, before returning to the hospital wing.” She shrugged. “That’s when Da and I took over.”

“I wonder what caused it?” Luna asked.

“I’m more concerned with what happened to local Harry and Black after we took over. I mean… I looked like me, like the Harry I grew up as, not local Harry. There were similarities between us, but we definitely weren’t identical. So…? Where did he go? And I’ve no idea how much Da looks like Black. I mean the arrest pictures look much the same but they’re twelve years old.”

Luna blinked. “You don’t suppose that Harry and Black went wherever you would have gone if you hadn’t arrived here?”

“I don’t know…” Titania whispered. “Possibly, but…? Where?”

“Where was the veil supposed to send people?”

“Depends on who you spoke to.” Titania shrugged. “The Unspeakables said it was the veil of judgement, but others called it the veil of Death.”

“What would Black have thought?”

“Oh…” Titania snorted. “He would probably thought it was the veil of Death, like most of the public do.”

“And what would Harry have thought?”

“Nothing. He wouldn’t have known about it at all.” Titania shook her head.

“Would he have accepted Black's designation for it?” Luna wondered.

“Yes. Yes, he would have. He trusts Black. If Black said it was the veil of Death, Harry would accept that it was the veil of Death.” Titania sighed.

“So, the chances are… local Harry and Black went into the veil and your Harry and Padfoot came to take their places.” Luna nodded.

“I suppose so. That makes more sense than any other scenario that we’ve come up with.”

“Which means, there’s little to no chance that they’ll be returning.” Luna sighed.

“Pretty much.” Titania agreed.

1st April 1994

“You’d think the twins would be happy to not be pranked on their birthday.” Luna huffed.

“I think they’re stressed, because they would prank someone else on someone else’s birthday and so are expecting it to happen to them.” Titania muttered as she dished up a slice of chocolate cheesecake for her dessert.

“Didn’t we send them a letter saying that birthdays were important and we weren’t going to interfere with them?” Luna frowned.

“We did but it seems that they, either didn’t get the letter or they don’t believe.”

“Or they’re thinking it’s a ruse, to make them relax so they can be caught off-guard.” Luna’s eyes widened.

“Oh, crap.” Titania whispered.

“We’d best send a quick note with a school owl and confirm it. No pranks on birthdays.” Luna suggested.

“Sounds good.” Titania nodded.

“But tomorrow, they’re fair game.”

“Definitely.” The two girls grinned at each other.

27th May 1994

“I hate exams.” Titania whined and let her head rest on the desk in front of her.

“Hello ickle secondies.” A redhead peered around the doorframe of the classroom that the girls often used as a study space, closely followed by a second redhead then a mess of black dreadlocks.

“Ah. If it isn’t my favourite red birdies and chocolate kitty.” Titania let her head roll to one side to see the three boys standing in the doorway. “To what do we owe this honour?”

Fred and George mock-growled while Lee just grinned and meowed at her. He rather like the idea of being a Caribbean based cat, his Havanna Brown Animagus form was exactly the same shade of brown as his skin and the little patch of pink under its mouth gave it a similar expression to the smirk that he frequently wore during quidditch games. Particularly when Gryffindor was wining.

“If you think you hate exams, now, Miss Kitten, wait until you hit fifth year.” Fred taunted Titania by using her own Animagus form as a nickname. When the twins had been dosed with the potion, to avoid any chance of her being blamed, a number of students in different houses and years had been dosed, including her and Luna.

“Not looking forward to it.” Titania whined. “And nice dodging the question, by the way. What’s up?”

“Well… Um…” George grimaced.

“Your dad was home schooled, right?” Fred asked and when Titania nodded, he went on. “We want to know, is he an Animagus?”

“Or would he be interested in learning to become one, with us?” George added.

“See, we worked out that the animals we were all turned into at the Leaving Feast, last year, were our Animagus forms.” Lee said.

“It was Snape of all people that gave us the final piece to the puzzle…” Fred said.

“… when he said there was a difference between the Animagus **_identifying_** potion…” George went on.

“… and the Animagus **_initiation_** potion.” And Fred finished the comment.

“And we want to try it.” Lee said. “But everything we’ve found is warning against doing it unsupervised.”

“And by unsupervised they mean …” Fred grinned.

“…without someone capable of using the reversable charm.” George waggled his eyebrows.

“Then… we got thinking.” Lee waved to include himself and the twins. “About who else was changed.”

“A couple of Ravens. A couple of Puffs. But mostly lions. Some seventh years. Some fourth years. Us.” George ticked them off on his fingers.

“And you pair.” Fred squinted at the two girls.

“So, we go thinking a bit more.” Lee said. “About who’s family members were already an Animagi but as far as we can work out, there’s no-one. Except we couldn’t find any records in McGonagall's office about your father. So we wondered if he was home schooled. Then it was, was he an Animagus? And if so, how do we find out? If not, is he interested in learning with us?”

“That would get us out of the Burrow during the holidays.” Fred said.

“We could say that he was giving us some extra tutoring in life skills.” George added.

“Things that Hogwarts doesn’t teach.” Fred huffed. “It would quiet down, mum.”

“Things like? Bookkeeping. Business management. That sort of thing.” Lee shrugged.

“Add in, a few school-related stuff, too.” Titania suggested.

“Runes, charms, transfig, how to use them in everyday life and a bit more in-depth detail on a select few, aiming to gain extra credit on your NEWTs.” Luna offered.

“But yeah, Da’s an Animagus and he’s already offered to teach me and Luna, but not until this summer.” Titania shrugged. “Something to do with needing time in blocks of hours, not minutes?”

“Can we write to him and get him to set something up with our parents?” Lee asked.

“Sure, we can send them along with ours.” Luna offered.

29th May 1994

“Kitten? Kitten, you there?” Paddy called through the green flames, his fingers rubbing at his forehead.

“Hey, Da. What’s up?” Titania flopped down onto a cushion in front of the fireplace.

“I just had a very interesting conversation with Molly Weasley. Care to guess what about?” Paddy said sarcastically.

“Ooh, I know, I know.” Luna dropped down beside Titania.

“That would be about lessons for the twins, right?” Titania sighed. “I sent you a letter, I even enclosed their letters for you.”

“Right. I haven’t got them, yet.” Paddy sighed. “School owls are so slow.”

“I bet the twins went to the Owl Post Office in Hogsmeade to send theirs to their mother.” Luna said. “The Weasleys only have one owl and Errol is ancient, so they wouldn’t want to send him.”

“Hmm. That sounds fair.” Paddy sighed.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Titania said.

“I’m going to meet Molly, tomorrow.” Paddy replied. “I did tell her, she and Arthur could speak to Amos Diggory about us. He’s been here a few times.”

“And Hagrid, too, Da.” Titania added.

“Oh, yes, that might help.” Paddy nodded.

“Oh, and Da?”

“Yes, kitten?”

“Luna and I found a clutch of Storm Raven eggs.”

“Storm Ravens?” Paddy blinked. “And you want to keep them?”

“Not me, Da. Luna.” Titania shook her head. “Hagrid’s looking after them for the moment, but he said one of the hatchlings is likely to be her familiar, as one of the eggs changed colour when she touched it.”

“Ask Professor Dumbledore to check for a Bond. If he says there’s one, I’ll agree to it and try to get a message to Xeno.” Paddy advised.

“Where is daddy, now?” Luna asked.

“He took off for Mongolia just after Easter and I haven’t heard from him, since. Have you?” Paddy replied.

“I did, Uncle Paddy.” Luna nodded. “But not for a few weeks.” She tilted her head in thought. “Not since the beginning of the month.”

“Well, three weeks is still better than seven weeks.” Paddy huffed. “Oh, well, I have Crisis Guardianship, so that satisfy Dumbledore, Amos and probably Molly, too.”

“And what about Lee’s family?” Titania asked.

“Thought it better to meet with Molly, first. Then I can tell the Jordan’s that the twins already have permission.” Paddy grinned. “Make it seem as though Lee is going to miss out, if he can’t join them.”

“Don’t push too hard, Da, they’re muggles.” Titania warned. “They may not want him to learn something like that.”

“I’ll ask about extra lessons, before I give them too many details, kitten.” Paddy agreed.

“Let us know the outcome?” Titania asked.

“There’s just one thing, kitten.”

“Yes…?”

“There’s a good chance that the boys will figure out that you and Luna are the Princesses of Pranks.”

“That’s fine, Da, we had planned on telling them that, anyway.” Titania shrugged again. “Not about the Harry stuff, but definitely about the Princesses.”

“Oh good. But I’d think about the Harry stuff, too, it might be a good idea for later.” Paddy suggested.

“Maybe later, but not while we’re at school.” Titania objected.

“Eh, that’s fine, just something to think about.” Paddy shrugged.

2nd June 1994

“So, it’s tonight.” Luna said, stretching her legs out on her bed.

“Yeah…” Titania whispered.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.” Titania nodded towards the note on her pillow.

“What time does it start?”

“Dobby, or rather the unturned version of Dobby, won’t tell Harry about me, until a couple of minutes before 3am.” Titania said. “A few minutes after three, I’ll call the unturned Dobby and give him the note for Harry. Then there’s nothing more I can do.” She frowned for a few moments. “No, that’s not quite right. Harry’s leaving letters for people, but I can leave memories.”

“Memories?”

“Yeah. I can leave the memory of destroying the horcruxes, Sirius wasn’t visible for that, he was asleep on the sofa and I was behind it, I couldn’t see him. And there’s a way to take memories, that leaves the memory on a flat surface, like a photo.”

“Who would you send that to?”

“Well…” Titania grinned. “That’s the best part. It only copies the memory, not removes it, like sometimes happens when you take a memory for pensieve viewing, and as it only copies, I can copy it as many times as I like.”

“But won’t that make Harry even more famous?”

“Doesn’t matter to me, I’m not Harry, I’m Titania.” She grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

“Okay, then. So, who will you send memories to?” Luna grinned back.

“Dumbledore, of course, he needs to know that Voldy’s gone and gone forever. Madam Bones is the Head of the DMLE, she should get a copy.”

“And a copy of your memory of confronting Pettigrew.” Luna added.

“Yeah. That might get Fudge to back off on the hunt for Black.” Titania nodded. “No likely, but Madam Bones is a stickler for following the rules, so it’s possible.”

“Anyone else?”

“Moody, Shacklebolt, Remus, McGonagall, Snape, Malfoy, Fudge and Gringotts.” Titania said. “And…?”

“And…?”

“And I’m wondering whether I should add in the memory of listening to Snape arguing with Trelawney? Outside the hospital wing?”

“Yes. Definitely.” Luna snapped. “She’s a fraud and she’s got it in for Harry. She gives Seers a bad name.”

“It could likely get her arrested.” Titania warned.

“I don’t have a problem with that. Maybe they’ll question her under _veritaserum_ , that should bring all sorts of things to light.” Luna tilted her head as something occurred to her. “Could the prophecy be as fake as she is?”

Titania’s eyes widened. “Ooh… that… ooh… If I question it in my letter, Madam Bones might ask about it. Harry’s dead, it won’t matter if it comes out, especially as the rest of the memories show the horcruxes destroyed and Harry saying, ‘only me left’. It might just work.”

“If it doesn’t, you’re no worse off, right?”

“Right.” Titania snapped her fingers.

“What about the pictures? The ones Trelawney was blackmailing Snape with?” Luna asked. “Do we need to get them?”

“No, we don’t. we don’t need to do anything other than send out the memories and give Dobby the note for Harry.” Titania replied.

“Have you got enough spare phials?”

“No, I don’t think so, but if I act now, I can get Da to send our Dobby, with some from home. And he can even deliver them.” Titania grinned, climbing to her feet and heading for her trunk.

3rd June 1994

Both girls waited until they knew that some of their housemates were up and about before heading down to the common room.

“Good morning, ickle secondies.” The twins chirped brightly, while Lee just nodded, he wasn’t a morning person at the best of times.

“Good morning, kites and kitty.” Titania grinned at them. “Breakfast, boys?”

“Coffee, you mean?” Lee grunted, his eye still half shut.

“Coffee for you and breakfast for us, then.” Luna shrugged.

“Yeah, I can do that.” Lee nodded.

“Let’s go.” The twins scooped up Titania between them and linked their arms through hers. A quick spin and they were out through the common room’s door and into the fifth-floor corridor.

“Here, switch with me.” Lee grabbed at George’s arm and nodded to Luna. “You two are going to drag Titania off her feet and then she won’t want to hang out with us anymore.”

“Nah, won’t happen.” George disagreed, but he did drop Titania’s arm and offer his to Luna. “Miss Lovegood? Might I escort thee to the Great Hall?”

“Why thank you, kind sir. I would greatly appreciate the company.” Luna replied graciously, before exchanging a look with Titania and laughing. “Come on, let’s go, I’m hungry.”

Down in the Great Hall, the staff table was practically empty, the only Professors present were Professors Sprout, Sinistra and Vector and Madam Pince.

“Hmm…” Fred hummed. “I wonder what’s got the Professors going at this hour?”

“This hour?” Titania snorted. “Fred, my dearest Fred, it is after eight, classes start at quarter ‘til nine. If they don’t hurry up, breakfast will be over.”

As she spoke the last word, Professor McGonagall marched into the Hall and up to the staff table, she stood in front of the table and rapped her knuckles against the table’s wooden surface.

“May I have your attention, please. First, second and fourth years, your end of term exams are complete. Third years, the last elective exam is today, that of Ancient Runes. OWL students, your exams start on Monday. NEWT students, yours start Thursday. There will be no classes today but I expect those with exams coming to be studying. The rest of you, please be courteous to them and to any other people you may see around the school.” She indicated to the back of the Hall where the students could see a tall black man in Auror robes waiting for her. “Thank you. Prefects? Please notify any student that is currently not in attendance. Good morning.” She nodded and retraced her steps, not even acknowledging the students as they nodded to her.

“I wonder what brought that on?” George muttered.

“No idea, brother mine.” Fred shook his head.

“Whatever shall we do in the meantime?” George asked.

“Our exams aren’t due to start until Monday, Miss Kitty and Miss Love-dove’s are done.” Fred added.

The twins exchanged a long speaking look and nodded.

“Let’s go to their classroom and read through our notes.” Fred said.

“Do we have to?” Lee muttered.

“If we don’t do well, mum’s not going to let us go to Titania and Paddy’s over summer.” George warned.

“Notes it is.” Lee nodded quickly.

6th June 1994

It wasn’t until Monday that the students found out what was happening.

As they waited for the morning’s mail, which was late, Professor Dumbledore stood up and called for their attention.

“Students, I have the sad duty to inform you of a death of a fellow student. Thursday evening three students were involved in assisting two of our Professors in apprehending the known fugitive, Sirius Black.” He paused while the students gasped in shock. “Yes, Black was captured. And subsequently escaped, again. However…” He paused again. “In the time since Black's second escape, new information has come to light to exonerate him of any wrongdoing in regard to the deaths of James and Lily Potter.” More gasps were heard and many students looked stunned. “We now believe that the reason that Black broke into Hogwarts was not kill Harry Potter but to protect him from the true offender, Peter Pettigrew. Mr Pettigrew’s involvement is a matter for the Aurors and I shall not be discussing the matter with students.” More gasps and a few dropped pieces of cutlery. “Having said that… It is my sad duty to inform you that Professor Trelawney has been arrested for blackmailing Professor Snape and for the attempted murder of Harry Potter and Sirius Black.” There were a couple of thuds as some fainter-hearted student collapsed and were quickly gathered up by older students. Some of the Slytherin students hissed their displeasure. “Thank you. I also have to tell you that Harry Potter is dead.” Silence filled the Hall but was quickly dispelled by anger and fear. “Mr Potter’s death was only broadly connected to that of Mr Black. Professor Trelawney failed in her attempt to harm Mr Potter, but it put him in a dangerous position. Yet again, Mr Potter was forced to confront Voldemort's soul as it attempted to regain a body.” More thuds and a few younger students began to cry. “Yet again, Mr Potter was victorious and Voldemort was defeated.” He sighed and leant heavily against the table. “Unfortunately, this victory cost Mr Potter his life.”

Dumbledore raised a hand rubbed at his forehead. “Mr Potter must have been aware of the severity of the situation before he entered it, and the likelihood of his demise, as he wrote letters for a number of people and left memories as evidence of his actions.” More student began to cry. “He left a message to you, all of you and asked me to read it out.” He carefully adjusted his half-moon glasses and pulled a single sheet of parchment from his pocket.

“To the students of Hogwarts. This place, this castle is as much our home as the places we grew up in, and for some of us, it is far more home than anywhere else. Voldemort was the same as us, he went to classes in the same rooms as us, he ate his meals in this Hall, he slept in our dormitories. He wasn’t born evil, he made the decision to be evil. He was never taught right from wrong. Don’t be another Voldemort. The students around are your family, maybe the ones in your house are closer, but all of them are family. Yes, even the Slytherins. The man who betrayed my parents was a Gryffindor and the man who killed them was a Slytherin. Which is worse? Betrayer or killer? Voldemort couldn’t have killed them without Pettigrew betraying them, likewise, Pettigrew wouldn’t have had betrayed them if Voldemort hadn’t wanted to kill them.” Dumbledore sighed.

“This castle is our home, the students in it are our family. Are you going to let some bully hurt our family?” The Headmaster let the sheet of parchment fall to the table, he sat down and let his head fall into his hands. The students could see his shoulder shaking and those closer could see the glistening wetness of tears.

“Harry Potter is dead. He died to save us. Are we going to let him down?” A Puff stood up and Titania wasn’t all that surprised to recognise Cedric Diggory. “Are we?” He asked again.

 ** _“NO!”_** The cry began as first one person stood, then two, then four, then whole groups leapt to their feet.

“This is our school!” Cedric yelled.

 ** _“Ours!”_** The students yelled back.

Hands began to smack tables and feet began to stamp on the tiled floors. And whispers became roars.

**_“Harry! Harry! Harry!”_ **

Dumbledore lifted his head and held his wand up, the tip lighting up. One by one, the other staff left their seats and formed a line down the centre of the Great Hall, one by one they raised their lit wands and one by one they let their tears fall. They were quickly joined by students from every house. Cedric lead the Puffs, Cho Chang lead the Claws, Percy lead the lions and, in a move that shocked Titania, Draco Malfoy lead the Slytherins. Soon the Hall was filled with light

Titania leant into Fred’s side and the older boy wrapped his arms around her, as she sobbed. He wasn’t aware that her tears were from relief not sorrow, but tears were tears and he knew what to do with a crying girl. You held on and you didn’t let go.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hands began to smack tables and feet began to stamp on the tiled floors. And whispers became roars._

**_“Harry! Harry! Harry!”_ **

_Dumbledore lifted his head and held his wand up, the tip lighting up. One by one, the other staff left their seats and formed a line down the centre of the Great Hall, one by one they raised their lit wands and one by one they let their tears fall. They were quickly joined by students from every house. Cedric lead the Puffs, Cho Chang lead the Claws, Percy lead the lions and, in a move that shocked Titania, Draco Malfoy lead the Slytherins. Soon the Hall was filled with light_

_Titania leant into Fred’s side and the older boy wrapped his arms around her, as she sobbed. He wasn’t aware that her tears were from relief not sorrow, but tears were tears and he knew what to do with a crying girl. You held on and you didn’t let go._

_Luna looked at her friends and sent up a prayer of thanks to Lady Magic. Her friend’s future was her own._

**Intermission**

_Professor Snape._

_No-one but you will be able to read this, unless you want them to, and even if you want them to, they won’t be able to keep it for long, it will return to your hands within five minutes and no-one but you can destroy it. Mum’s security charms are brilliant._

_You were mum’s friend and dad’s enemy. But you were also my teacher. You don’t like me and I don’t particularly like you but that hasn’t stopped you from stepping in and saving my life when it was threatened. Yes, I know about you and the counter curse to my hexed broom in first year. About you volunteering to co-host Lockhart the Incompetent’s duelling cub, to ensure that I wasn’t assigned an older student that would ‘accidentally’ take advantage of the situation. And don’t forget stepping in front of Ron, Hermione and I in the forest, tonight. Professor Lupin loosing control of his animagus form was scary for us but you didn't even hesitate to push us behind you._

_I know that this is partially because you owed dad a Life Debt and partially because Dumbledore is a manipulative bastard and basically guilted you into it._

_Either way, as far as I’m concerned, you’ve more than paid it back._

_I, Henry James Evans-Potter, known as Harry Potter, do hereby acknowledge any debts owed to either my father or mother by Severus Snape, head of Slytherin house and potions Master to Hogwarts, as paid in full._

_I heard you and Trelawney speaking outside the hospital wing and her comments were just thing too many for me to accept._

_You will be pleased to know that Harry Potter is no more._

_But don’t worry, I got rid of the snake-faced idiot before I left. Voldemort is gone. He made horcruxes, more than one._

_Six._

_If you ever find Godric Gryffindor’s office, or can convince a house-elf to show you, you will find the remains of four of them. A locket belonging to Slytherin, a cup belonging to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw’s diadem and the Gaunt Family ring. Unfortunately, in removing the horcrux from each item, they were broken beyond repair. The only thing I knew for sure would kill destroy them was a basilisk fang, I used one to destroy a diary-horcrux in second year. Malfoy has the remains of that._

_The other one was me._

_And the only way to destroy a horcrux, according to the books in the restricted section of the library, is to destroy the container._

_That’s why I said Harry Potter is no more. By the time you read this, it will be over and done with._

_Please tell Remus to look in the usual hiding place for a letter and a copy of my Will. Gringotts have the original. Dumbledore might say he’s my guardian but I know better and so do Gringotts. Sirius was falsely imprisoned, he never got a trial and was never convicted. That meant that according to Gringotts he’s still my guardian. He was never trying to kill me, he was trying to protect me, why do you think he attacked Ron and not me? Ron’s rat is Peter Pettigrew, he was mum and dad’s Secret Keeper, he was the one to betray us. Isn’t he going to be upset when he finds Voldy is gone?_

_I know that a lot of people will be, but I know that you’re not going to be one of them._

_You’ll never have to worry about Sirius coming back and getting angry that you didn’t save me again, I sent him a message and told him what I was going to do and why. I told him to leave Scotland, get a new identity and start a new life. His reply said something called a blood adoption would do that. He was going to leave a letter for Remus, with mine._

_I’ve left mum’s potions journal for you, needless to say a dead person doesn’t have much use for a journal._

_Thank you._

_Harry._

_P.S. The pictures that Trelawney spoke about? I had a non-Hogwarts elf fetch them for you. They’ll be in your rooms, on your personal desk. I didn’t look at them, they’re not my business, nor are they hers. Blackmailing you is stupid, but Sirius said she was never the smartest witch out there._

Severus Snape read the letter for a third time and for a third time, his heart shuddered. The boy was dead. He climbed to his feet, the Headmaster needed to know about this.

He quickly made his way through the castle to the headmaster’s office, only to have a portrait that hung opposite the office’s stair, speak to him.

“Potions Master Snape, the Headmaster is not in his office, he was called to the hospital wing just a few minutes ago.” The elderly wizard informed him.

“My thanks, Master Brannigan.” He nodded to the painting. “My need to speak to the Headmaster is urgent, so I shall hasten there, immediately.” He gave a shallow bow and spun on his heel, hurrying back the way he’d come.

He knocked firmly on the hospital wing’s door and waited impatiently for them to open. Madam Pomfrey’s face greeted him and before she could say anything, he held up a hand.

“I need to speak with the Headmaster, urgently. It is in regard to Potter.”

Her eyes widened and she pulled the door open only far enough for him to enter.

“Severus?” Dumbledore said. “I will have to speak with you later. This-”

“I know.” Snape held up the letter. “Potter wrote to me. He’s dead.”

Dumbledore blinked and he darted across the room to stand in front of Severus.

 _ **“What?!”**_ He demanded.

“I found this, this morning, my wand was sitting on it.” Severus handed over the letter.

“It’s blank.” Dumbledore said.

Snape frowned and understanding cleared his face. “I give permission for Albus Dumbledore to read the letter, sent to me from Harry Potter.” He said and watched as Dumbledore’s eyes fell to the letters bleeding out of the parchment.

The Headmaster read the letter and slumped back onto an empty bed.

“Oh, no…” He whispered.

“Yes.” Snape replied.

“Is it true?”

Snape bared his left arm showing an arm free of the vile Mark that Voldemort had forced upon him. “It is true. He is gone.” He sank down beside the Headmaster. “So is the boy.” He let his head fall to hands. “Lily’s son is dead.”

“…” The Headmaster made sound of heartache and a tear slid from his eye. “How did he know? Who told him?”

“I don’t know, Albus.” Snape sighed. “Does it matter, now? At the very least, he’s safe from the Dark Lord and from those… muggles.” The last word was almost growled.

“He is.” Dumbledore sighed. “He is safe from all harm.”

“And you plans are all wasted.” Snape sneered.

“Not wasted but thankfully, not needed.” Dumbledore replied.

“I’m not telling Lupin.” Snape declared.

“Severus…”

“No.” Snape was adamant. “No. **_You_** put him with the muggles. **_You_** made sure he was isolated. **_You_** laid the trail to entice the boy into your traps. Well, he sprung them and now **_you_** can deal with the fallout. My part in all this is clear… to the boy, as well as everyone else… My task was to see he lived. He’s dead. My part in this is over. I’m free.”

“Severus, you owe James-”

“A Life Debt that passed to his son, a son that absolved me of that Debt.” Snape cut him off. “He acknowledged it as paid. I am free. And I refuse to submit myself to your machinations, any longer, Headmaster. My contract says that I will remain here until the end of June 2000. I will agree to no amendments nor will I sign another contract with Hogwarts or you. I am free to choose my own future and you will not be a part of that choice.” Snape stood. “I suggest you call the Aurors, before I do.” He reached out and removed the letter from an unresisting Dumbledore and left the Hospital. “I will expect them to visit me in my office, this morning. All my classes are cancelled.”

On the other side of the hospital, Hermione Granger listened to the discussion between Snape and the Headmaster. She let her head rest on the pillow and thought about what the said and what she knew of Harry’s life at Hogwarts and in the muggle world.

“What did Snape mean?” Ron asked.

Hermione held up a hand and continued to think. Finally, many minutes later, she sighed and let her hand fall.

“Well?” Ron was now sitting up, a tray holding a breakfast meal in front of him.

“Harry’s dead, Ron.” Hermione sighed.

“No, he just-”

“He’s dead.” Hermione corrected. “Last night he was prepared to go with someone, that only a couple of hours earlier, he believed to be murderer, just to escape from his Aunt and Uncle.”

“No.” Ron repeated.

“Yes.” Hermione corrected. “I don’t know what Snape’s letter said but both of them believe Harry’s dead. And that Vol- You-Know-Who is dead, too, apparently Harry did it. My guess is, if Harry sent Snape a letter, then he knew going in, he was going to die.”

Ron blinked. “He wrote to Snape…?”

“He did.” Hermione nodded.

“Yeah. Harry’s dead.” Ron sighed. “He’d never do that if he knew he had to face him again.”

“No.” Hermione curled onto her side, facing Ron. “I hope wherever he is, it’s better than here.”

“It is.” Ron said firmly. “It has to be. Harry’s there.”

“Yes, if Harry’s there, it’s a good place.” Hermione began to cry, silent tears trickling down her face.

Two hours later, Remus Lupin limped into Snape’s office.

“Dumbledore told me that Harry wrote to you.” He greeted Snape.

“He did.” Snape held out the letter. “I give permission for Remus Lupin to read the letter that Harry Potter sent me.”

Remus read the letter and sighed. “Bollocks. I had hoped…” He re-read a portion of it again. “The usual place?” he dragged himself to his feet. “The usual place…”

“Lupin?”

“The usual place? How did he know we called it that?” Lupin frowned.

“How did he know about the Dark Lord’s horcruxes? How did he know about the Life Debt I owed his father? How did he know that I was Lily’s friend? How did he know that his father and I were enemies? How did he know I saved his life? How did he know about Gryffindor’s office? How did he know about Lily’s charms? How did he know about Lily’s potions journal?” Snape replied. “All I have are questions. I have _**no**_ answers. And unless the letter he left for you answers them, I never will.”

Lupin tilted his head. “Want to come with me to fetch it? I’ll let you read it.”

Snape studied the man for a nearly a minute before he replied. “Yes, I think I will.”

Before he could stand, a figure in Auror’s red filled his door. “I’m looking for Professors Severus Snape and Remus Lupin.”

“That’s us.” Lupin said. “I’m Lupin.”

“And I am Potions Master Snape.”

“Excellent.” The Auror nodded. “I need to take your statements. In regard to last night and this morning.”

“A statement, or would you prefer to remove a copy of the memory of the incidents?” Snape asked.

The Auror hummed in thought. “I’ll take the memories, if you don’t mind?”

“Copies only.” Snape said. “If we need to provide statements later, we’ll need to have access to them.”

“Certainly, Master Snape.” The Auror nodded and retrieved a bag of phials from his pocket. “How many phials would you like?”

“Four.” Snape said, he thought it best to give a selection including from the night before as well as this morning.

“Same.” Lupin decided he would provide the memories of meeting with Dumbledore and discussing his interactions with Harry, teaching Harry to cast a Patronus, the events of the night before and the casting of the Fidelius Charm back in September 1981.

Half an hour later, the two Professors entered the shrieking shack.

“Here?” Asked Snape, looking around in distaste.

“Up here.” Lupin corrected and climbed to the room opposite the one they’d been in last night. He went to the far wall and knelt down, lifted a portion of the wall’s kickboard away from the wall and reached into the cavity. His hand returned holding a biscuit tin.

A few seconds passed before Lupin sighed and rose to his feet. “Do you want to do this here or back in the castle?”

“Here.” Snape replied. “Dumbledore will want to confiscate them, before we read them, if he can.”

“True.” Lupin nodded and opened the tin. Inside, were a small box and four letters, each with a single words written on the outside of them.

Moony – in the familiar ‘chicken-scratch’ of Harry Potter.

Moony – in a shaky but clear hand.

Snape – in the smae hand as the second ‘Moony’ letter.

Gringotts – in Harry’s rough writing.

“The mutt left one for me?” Snape blinked as Lupin handed him the tin, after having removed the two letters addressed to ‘Moony’.

Lupin didn’t answer, her was too busy reading.

**_My Dearest Moony._ **

**_I don’t know where to start. I’ve spent the night talking with Harry and he_**

**_Gods, Moony, the shit he’s had to put up with. It’s crap. Complete and utter crap._ **

**_Petunia deserves to be handed over to the Death Eater for the shit she’s let happen to Harry._ **

**_Oh, don’t panic, she never did anything to him, she just never stopped her husband or son from doing it._ **

**_Anyway, Harry explained to me what he plans to do tonight. It nearly killed me, when he told me, but_ **

**_I can’t see any other way, either. Voldemort has to go and har_**

**_If my mother said horcruxes are evil, you know how bad they are. And Harry’s got one in his head. I found nothing in Grimmauld that disagreed with what Harry found in the Hogwarts library. The only way to destroy a Horcrux is to destroy the container._ **

**_Whether it’s alive or not._ **

**_He’s going to use a selection of potions._ **

**_Oh, Moony, our cub’s going to kill_ **

**_There won’t be anything left to find, the potions will make sure of it and I can only hope it’s quick._ **

**_As I write this, I have a pair of bloodline conversion potions in goblets, in front of me and once I finish this, I’ll drink them. Harry’s orders._ **

**_We’ll meet again, one day. When everything quiets down, I’ll come see you. I won’t look like me but underneath, I’m still the idiot you called ‘brother’._ **

**_Wish me luck._ **

**_Padfoot_** **** **_🐾_ **

**_P.P.S The shrunken trunk is for you. Get some decent robes, you skinflint._ **

Lupin snorted and opened the second letter.

_Dear Moony_

_I don’t know what to say._

_Thank you for being there this year. Knowing how to cast a Patronus saved my life, and Sirius’._

_I have to do this. I’m sorry. If there was any other way, I’d take it, but neither Sirius nor I can find one. The potions will end it._

_I’m sure there’s people that will call it suicide, but if that kills Voldemort and saves my friends, I’ll take it._

_I don’t trust the Headmaster, he hired Voldemort as a teacher for my first year. I don’t know why he’s trying to kill me, but I was far safer in the muggle world than I have been here. Other than Hermione and Ron, this place has nothing for me._

_I’m going to miss them. And you and probably Snape, too._

_He’s the only one here that didn’t treat me like some sort of celebrity._

_I hate being the Boy-Who-Lived, it’s rubbish and it sucks._

_Sirius said he was going to take some potion that would change his identity, so you will see him again. I think he has unfinished business with Snape, the way he carried on was like dad did with mum. Maybe he fancies Snape._

_Oh, God. Don’t tell Snape!_

_Please?_

_Anyway, my time is up. It’s time to end this, once and for all._

_I think I could have called you Uncle, but I guess we’ll never know, now._

_Goodbye Moony._

_Harry_

_P.S. When you see Sirius next ask him if he does have a crush on Snape. I would love to see his face._

Meanwhile Snape had opened the letter addressed to him from Black.

**Snape**

**I’m sorry.**

**I know how much Lily meant to you. Knowing what Harry has planned is**

**I’m sorry.**

**This sucks, it really does. Harry shouldn’t have to do this. The Ministry and the Aurors should be doing it, but the useless pack of wankers are refusing to even admit that the snake-faced bastard’s not gone.**

**By morning, he will be. And so will Harry. And that sucks.**

**My godson is going to basically commit suicide to end a war that the Ministry won’t even acknowledge is happening and there’s not a bloody thing I can do but watch.**

**And he won’t let me. Says the risk of the horcrux attacking me is too great.**

**Bollocks.**

**He’s tearing my heart out and neither of us can see any way around it.**

**I’m sorry.**

**I’m**

**I’m sorry.**

**I know you don’t want to hear this, but I was young and stupid and I hurt you. I’m sorry.**

**Sirius.**

Snape read the letter and sighed. “Stupid idiot.” He muttered. “I know you’re sorry, but that doesn’t change Harry being dead, now does it?”

“That bad?” Lupin asked.

“No, I suppose not.” Snape allowed, handed the letter to Lupin and accepted two in return. His eyes flicked through them, brows raising as he read Potter’s letter. “Well, that would explain a few things.”

“Doesn’t it, just?” Lupin smiled sadly. “We’d better take these to Gringotts and the Ministry. They’ll probably want copies.”

“I’m sure they will.” Snape nodded. “I suggest we do that before returning to the castle.”

“Agreed.”


	15. Chapter 15

_Snape read the letter and sighed. “Stupid idiot.” He muttered. “I know you’re sorry, but that doesn’t change Harry being dead, now does it?”_

_“That bad?” Lupin asked._

_“No, I suppose not.” Snape allowed, handed the letter to Lupin and accepted two in return. His eyes flicked through them, brows raising as he read Potter’s letter. “Well, that would explain a few things.”_

_“Doesn’t it, just?” Lupin smiled sadly. “We’d better take these to Gringotts and the Ministry. They’ll probably want copies.”_

_“I’m sure they will.” Snape nodded. “I suggest we do that before returning to the castle.”_

_“Agreed.”_

**Intermission Pt2**

Lucius Malfoy looked at his son, a confused expression on his face.

“Excuse me?” Lucius said.

“You heard me, father.” Draco replied. “I may be only in third year, but I am the Prince of Slytherin.”

“Yes, I heard that.” Lucius batted the comment away. “I also heard that you lead Slytherin to follow Dumbledore.”

“Then you weren’t listening.” Draco objected. “I lead Slytherin out of the Dark Lord’s shadow and into prime place beside Gryffindor.” Draco smirked. “And there’s nothing that Dumbledore can do to deny it or the respect it earnt those of us that did it.”

“Those of you that did it…?” Lucius asked.

“Oh, yes, there were a few that ignored my… suggestion… they stayed seated and didn’t join us. And as a result of that, they have been ostracised by the rest of our House and by the school, whereas, those of us that participated…? We are looked up to, we are respected, we are welcomed… for nothing more than standing up and honouring a fallen foe.” Draco said.

“A fallen foe…?” Lucius muttered.

“No-one would ever believe that Potter and I would be… friends… No, never. But respecting what he’s done? Yes. Honouring his actions? Yes. Following his lead? Maybe not. But father, he’s freed us. There is no chance now, that some crazed madman can force you to act against your will. That… brand… is gone. Whether you consented to it or were forced by grandfather no longer matters, it’s gone. Never to return. And Potter did that, that is why I stood and honoured him. Everything else is a side-effect, pleasant, but not the true reason.”

“I see…” Lucius hummed before turning to his wife. “Our son is growing up, my love, one day he shall lead our family and it shall be in strong hands.”

“Indeed, it shall.” Narcissa nodded and smiled at her son.

Bellatrix Lestrange looked at her arm in horror, her dirty and roughened fingers rubbing at the skin. In their wake clear paths of flesh, remained. Clear flesh that should have been filled with the beautiful lines of her Master’s Mark.

“No….” She whispered. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no…”

For the rest of her life, ‘no’ was the only word to pass her lips.

Others of her Master’s people weren’t so unlucky. Her husband and his brother fell in shock and their hearts failed but not Bellatrix. She was forced to live many years with the knowledge that her Master was truly gone, never to return.

Amelia Bones sighed and let her rolled her head on her shoulders, trying to ease the tension headache that was building at the base of skull. She wasn’t all that sure that she was going to last until the end of her shift, not without requiring potions.

“Amelia?” Cornelius Fudge stood in the door of her office.

“Cornelius…” She huffed.

“Is it true? Did Crouch really have his son under _imperius_ in a shed?” The Minister shuffled forward and nearly fell into one of the sets in front of her desk.

“Yes and no.” Amelia replied. “Yes to the son under _imperius_. No to the shed, he had his son in the basement.”

“The basement…?” Fudge whimpered. “Oh, dear Merlin.”

“Yes, that’s fairly much my reaction, too.” Amelia nodded. “Both are in the holding cells.” She flicked a hand over her shoulder, in the direction of the aforementioned cells.

“They’ll be both going back to Azkaban, then?” Fudge asked.

“No. Junior will be being Kissed, he’s already listed as deceased, and his ‘escape’ has earned him that. That’s a standard sentence. Senior will go before the Wizengamot but I expect he’ll be treated the same. After all, he’s responsible for that escape and when you add in however many uses of the _imperius_ , that he’s cast on Junior? I think Kissed is a fair call.” Amelia sank back in her seat and let her head rest on the back of the chair.

Fudge’s shoulders fell. “And Black?’

“Gone.” Amelia huffed. “Not a trace of him. Not in England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales. We used his apparition trace, but nothing showed up.”

“Would the goblins help, do you think?” Fudge asked, uncertain if his input would be welcomed.

“I wondered that, too.” Amelia nodded and Fudge relaxed a little. “But all they’ve said is that Sirius Orion Black is no longer Sirius Orion Black. They don’t know whether he’s taken conversion potions like he told Lupin or an adoption potion like Potter said but either way, there’s no trace of him in Britain.”

“And the… accusations… in the first letter, the Snape letter? About Black and… his innocence…?” Fudge asked.

“Well… that’s touchy.” Amelia drew in a deep breath. “There’s no transcript of a trial and no records beyond his initial arrest. But Lupin and Snape provided memories in lieu of a statement and one of Lupin’s was of the fidelius being cast on the Potter’s place in Godric's Hollow.”

Fudge just looked at her.

“No, Black wasn’t their Secret Keeper, it was Pettigrew.” Amelia closed her eyes.

“So, what you’re saying is that the then Minister allowed a scion of an Ancient and Noble House to be sent to Azkaban without a trial?” Fudge whimpered.

“No, it’s far worse than that…” Amelia sighed. “Black was the Heir. And when Arcturus died in February 1991, Sirius Orion Black became the Lord Black.”

“Oh, Gods above.”

“Thankfully, that won’t hold over, if he’s taken bloodline conversion potions. It might for adoption potions but not with conversion potions.” Amelia said.

“So, who will inherit the seat?”

“I don’t know.” Amelia shrugged. “Possibly one of Arthur's boys. Arthur's mother was Cedrella Black and Molly’s was Lucretia Black, both were Arcturus’ cousins. But it could just as easily be Augusta’ grandson or Malfoy’s son, both have a grandparent that are Blacks.”

“But Arthur's boys have two.” Fudge nodded. “Do we know what the Black Charter says? Which of the lads it’s likely to be?”

“No, the Blacks are extremely chary about sharing their Charter, the goblins have only the only copy outside the family and we’ve no chance of viewing it. If it’s one of Arthur's, it will be either the eldest son or the youngest son.” Amelia said.

“Oh, dear…” Fudge sighed.

“Yes, either it will be a goblin-trained curse-breaker or Harry Potter’s best friend. Neither of which are terribly pleased with the Ministry’s actions toward the boy or his godfather.” Amelia nodded tiredly.

“What do you suggest we do?”

“Hogwarts stands united, for the first time since the Founders, all four Houses are standing together, standing behind the memory of Harry Potter. We have to do the same. If we don’t…? no-one from this generation onwards will trust the Ministry, or work with us. No-one will believe in us. No-one will respect us. And that will only spread as our younger generations leave us behind.” Amelia replied.

“So, we clear Black, then?”

“Publicly, reassess the evidence and go from there. If he’s innocent, he’s innocent, if he’s guilty, he’s guilty, but I don’t think we’ll ever find him, no matter which way it goes. Not with conversion potions available to him.”

“With a conversion potion and an age-altering potion, he could be almost anyone on the street.” Fudge realised. “Hell, he could be young enough to have not yet started at Hogwarts…” The implications were… huge…

“He could be **_anywhere_**...” Amelia nodded.

Peter Pettigrew scampered through the sewers, looking for a safe place to rest, his paws ripped and torn from escaping Sirius and Remus.

The thought of them tore at him, they were his brothers and he turned his back on them. And for what? A crappy life as a rat?

Was it worth it?

He came to a platform above the filthy waters, clear of mess and debris. He huddled against the slimy brickwork and slowly transformed in his human self.

A burning sensation on his left arm had him grasping it, only to gasp in shock when the sensation faded and his Dark Mark was smeared by his sleeve. He quickly uncovered his arm and used a handful of the dirty water below him to wet his arm. The ink ran in rivulets across his skin leaving behind old bruises but no Dark Mark.

“No, it’s not… No.” Peter whispered. “He can’t be gone. I can’t have lost everything, not for nothing. No. No.” The short man twisted and a fat rat took his place.

A few seconds and the rat was running.

Through this tunnel and into that one, down that one and across this one.

Crunch.

The rat hadn’t been taking much notice of where it was going and it had ran from the relative safety of the sewers and out onto a side street, just as a lorry was going passed.

A flash of regret went through Peter’s mind before blackness filled him.

Minutes passed before the traffic faded and a hungry young cat, tempted by the smell, dragged the carcass from the road and through a nearby fence and into the stand of bushes that she had claimed as her den, there she ate the first meal she had found in days.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hands began to smack tables and feet began to stamp on the tiled floors. And whispers became roars._

**_“Harry! Harry! Harry!”_ **

_Dumbledore lifted his head and held his wand up, the tip lighting up. One by one, the other staff left their seats and formed a line down the centre of the Great Hall, one by one they raised their lit wands and one by one they let their tears fall. They were quickly joined by students from every house. Cedric lead the Puffs, Cho Chang lead the Claws, Percy lead the lions and, in a move that shocked Titania, Draco Malfoy lead the Slytherins. Soon the Hall was filled with light_

_Titania leant into Fred’s side and the older boy wrapped his arms around her, as she sobbed. He wasn’t aware that her tears were from relief not sorrow, but tears were tears and he knew what to do with a crying girl. You held on and you didn’t let go._

_Luna looked at her friends and sent up a prayer of thanks to Lady Magic. Her friend’s future was her own._

Paddy eyed the children and young adults getting off the Express and he was quite surprised at what he saw. Yes, there were red eyes and sad faces, but there was also a quiet strength clearly visible on almost every face. The kind of strength he remembered seeing on Harry, Hermione and Ron’s faces, of seeing on James, Frank, Gideon and Fabian’s faces.

The faces clearly told that they’d lost a friend, but were doing what they could, in their own way, of honouring that friend.

“Da!” Titania’s voice reached his ears and he sighed in relief as his arms closed around her.

“Oh, kitten, are you alright?” Held her tight, before pushing her back to look her over.

“I’m fine, Da, I’m fine.”

“They both are, Mr Grimmley.” Paddy looked away from his daughter and focused on the other students gathered around them.

“Luna. Fred, George. Lee” Each of them were gathered up and carefully hugged. “Fred, George. Your parents are down the far end of the platform. Your father said that if you wanted, you’re permitted to come home with us. Something about your mother was going to be so focused on your younger brother and sister and not wanting you to feel left out. But the choice is yours.” Paddy assured them.

Fred and George exchanged looks, slightly alarmed at the thought of having to deal with a frantic mother.

“We’ll come with you, please.” Both twins spoke together and George went on. “Don’t wanna face mum in a fussing mood.”

“Not if we can avoid it.” Fred added.

“Ah, like that is she?” Paddy knew exactly what Molly Weasley was like in a ‘fussing mood’, even if he couldn't say that.

“Yes.” Boy twins nodded.

“Fair enough. I’ll catch your father and let him know.” Paddy turned to Lee. “And what of you, Mr Jordan? Are you joining us, too?”

“Yes, please. I had already planned to stay with the Weasleys, before this. My mum’s out of the country for the next week, at least.” Lee answered.

“And your father?” Paddy asked.

“Dad died when I was little, he was an Auror.” Lee replied.

“The war?” Paddy asked and Lee nodded. “Damn, sorry, kid. Aright, so you’re coming, too. Fine. Head for the floos and I’ll meet you there in a couple of minutes, I just want to let the Weasleys know I’ve got you all. Don’t need Molly to get into a panic because she can’t find you.”

“Yes, Da.” Titania grinned and grabbed Luna and Fred’s hands and began to drag them up the platform.

The expressions on Fred, George and Lee’s faces when the flock descended on Titania, as she entered her bedroom, was enough to make Luna, Paddy and Titania laugh.

“So, obviously, this is Titania’s room. Luna shares with her, when she stays over. You three boys are across the hall, sorry but you’re going to have to share, this place has only got four bedrooms and the fourth one’s being used as an office-cum-library.” Paddy pointed that the various doors. “Now, while this is Titania’s bedroom, it’s also the only room with a balcony large enough for the flock to use. So, I’m trusting you. You can come in here, but the door stays open and you do nothing that you wouldn’t want happening in your sister’s room. Got it?”

“Got it.” The three boys nodded.

“Good. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, so you don’t have to worry about girl products in the shower.”

Lee grinned. “Thank god. My sister graduated and she’s technically left home but the shower still has her shampoo and Merlin help anyone if they use it. She’s vicious.”

“Well, we’re not.” Titania said.

“Not about that, anyway.” Luna added.

“Bullies, and them deliberately hurting someone? Now that’s a different story.” Paddy warned.

“Understood.” George nodded and Paddy gave them a grin.

“Dinner will be in an hour, put your trunks in your room and get settled.” He headed for the door, before pausing on the threshold. “Oh, one more thing. This place? This is our sanctuary. It’s warded to a fare-thee-well, took the goblins a whole **_week_** to do it. As a result of that, the Department for Improper Use of Magic can’t detect anything happening here. So, you’re free to use your wands.”

“But… the Trace?” Fred asked.

“Nope. Titania’s been using a wand since she was nine, here.” Paddy replied.

“Really?” George blinked.

Titania nodded.

“We use magic whenever we want.” Luna said.

“Wicked…” Both twins exclaimed.

“So, first Animagus lesson.” Paddy said the next morning, causing all five youngsters to transfer their attention from their various breakfasts, to him. “You’ve all taken the Identifying potion. Yes?”

“Yes, Da.” Titania nodded. “Fred and George are Red Magma Kites and Lee is a Havanna Brown.”

“A… A what?”

“Havanna brown, it’s a type cat, Da.” Titania huffed.

“Okay, I think I need to see the five of you in your other forms, so for today, we’re going to reuse the Identifying potion, so I can get pictures of each of you. You’ll want them when it comes to start the actual transformation process. Trust me, you’ll want them.” Paddy warned.

Fred and George frowned. “None of the books we found, said anything about pictures. Why pictures?” George asked.

“Didn’t you have pictures, Da?” Titania asked.

“No, I didn’t.” Paddy shook his head. “And that’s why I’m saying, you’ll want them. Doing this without them is… It took me three years to complete the change properly. Once I had it, it was simple, but getting to that point was a nightmare. Let’s avoid that, huh?”

“What about a mirror, too, Uncle Paddy?” Luna asked.

“A mirror?” Paddy blinked. “Why?”

“We can look in the mirror, while you take pictures.” Luna replied.

“Oh, I get it.” Lee gasped. “You can take pictures as we move, we can see the movements in the mirror and feel what it’s like to make those movements. All at the same time. And looking at the pictures later will prompt us to remember how that movement felt.”

“Yes.” Luna nodded.

“Huh.” Paddy grunted. “Yeah, that might work.”

“Worth a shot.” Titania nodded.

“Alright.” Paddy held out a tray of phials. “Who’s first?”

“I’ll go.” Lee reached for a phial and quickly headed for the living room before he opened the phial and swallowed the bright blue liquid down, while Titania pulled out a camera and Paddy conjured a mirror.

“The mirror will only last an hour, so once Lee’s done, someone else needs to step up pretty quickly.” Paddy warned. “However, I’ve spoken to a couple of healers and owled Professor Snape, to double check. You can take the Identifying potion more than once but no more than once a day and for no longer than a week.”

“You told _**Snape**_ we were trying to become Animagus’?” Fred squawked.

“Animagi.” Paddy corrected. “And yes, I did. We had an interesting talk about you lot. Brewing in abandoned classrooms is not good. The ventilation isn’t right. Go see him when you get back and he’ll assign you a spare lab to use. There’s heaps of them, apparently, and they’re for the students to use.”

Fred and George wore innocent expressions as they looked around the room, while Lee dropped his head in amusement. That movement continued and Lee shrunk to the floor, a strangled sound coming from his altered throat. He stood up and shook himself, which caused his reflection in the mirror to catch his attention.

A strange chittering noise came from his mouth as he looked at the sleek cat in the mirror. Large upright ears twitched, while his long slender tail swished from side to side.

“You’re supposed to move around so we can get pictures of you in motion, Lee.” George nudged the cat with a foot, earning himself a flat look and warning yowl, that by the look on cat-Lee’s face, caught the boy-in-cat-shape by surprise. But the cat stood and walked around the room, his head frequently turning to mirror, to study his reflection. As he walked back across the room to the mirror, he stumbled as he change back to a boy in mid-step.

“Whoa…” He whispered. “That’s a rush.”

“Mr Grimmley?” George asked.

“Paddy, George. Call me Paddy. Or if you can’t then make it Uncle Paddy.”

Fred and George had a fast no-words-needed conversation and nodded.

“Right.” George said. “Uncle Paddy. What’s the difference between the Animagus Identifying potion and the Initiation potion?”

“The Identifying potion controls your shift, while the Initiation potion allows you to control the shift but only lets you shift into the form the Identifying potion has previously shifted you into.” Paddy said. “You have to take the Identifying potion at least three times before you can take the Initiation potion. Today makes at least twice for all of you. We’ll do this again tomorrow and then on Monday, we’ll use the initiation potion. That’s when the hard work starts.”

“How long do you think it will take us to be able to shift? Fully, I mean?” George asked.

“We’ve got you three for ten days.” Paddy said. “I’m kinda hoping you’ve got it by then, if not, you’re going to have to wait until you get back to Hogwarts to keep trying.”

“Why?” Lee asked.

“If you work on this by yourselves and get stuck, someone’s going to have to use the Animagus Reversal charm on you and unless you intend to tell Molly Weasley that you’re working on becoming animagi, that’s going to have to be one of you three, and I don’t know what wards the Burrow has.” Paddy answered.

“Ah, right. No, we’re not telling mum Weasley.” Lee grimaced.

“I didn’t think so.” Paddy snorted. “Who’s next?”

“Me, Da.” Titania stepped forward.

“Right you are, kitten. Here” Paddy handed over a phial. “Drink up.” And Titania did just that.

A few seconds ticked by, then Titania leant over. She sighed and as she breathed out, she changed. Gone was the pretty blonde girl and in her place was a young snow leopard, just entering that gangly-limbed stage of adolescence.

With feathers protruding from its shoulders.

“What the…?” Fred tilted his head in confusion. “Where did the feathers come from?”

“And why?” George added.

Paddy didn’t answer, he was too busy pressing the shutter release on his camera and Luna just crouched down and looked at cat-thing-Titania.

“Think about your wings.” She said. “Open them out, spread them out. Uncle Paddy needs to get pictures.”

The cat-with-wings mreowled and walked around in circles, then the feathers spread out and became wings.

“Aww…” Lee crouched down beside Luna. “You’re so cute…” He gushed. Titania-cat gave him a flat look and used her long whippy tail to swat at his face. “Bleh…” He wiped his face on his sleeve. “Yuck.”

“Serves you right, Lee.” Fred snickered and high-fived his twin.

Remus Lupin sighed as he walked along the quiet street in Glasgow. He was the last of his friends, the last of the Gryffindors of his year, the war had taken them all.

Well, not all… Sirius was out there… _somewhere_ …

Remus wondered how he’d know, if he passed Sirius on the street. Bloodline conversion completely overrode an existing bloodline and would change his appearance. He could look like anyone. Remus would never know, would never find him. It would be up to him to approach Remus.

He turned the corner from the quiet street into an even smaller street, letting he feet drag him away from Glasgow Cathedral and towards the University of Strathclyde. The street curved slightly and he let himself fall into an ambling stride.

As he passed a carpark, a long-forgotten scent wafted passed his nose.

“What the…?” He frowned. His nose twitched and his head turned. A few more strides and he reached another side street, he turned down it and paused a few yards later. A smear of blood on the road drew him, before he stood and backtracked towards the nearest building. Through a squared off archway and into a quiet courtyard, he followed his nose around and into a second larger garden with a few trees and bushes creating sheltered spaces. Closer and closer, he drew towards that remembered scent. Finally, he stood under an old oak tree and watched as a scrawny young cat washed its face, as it did the scent faded.

“Hello, there, little one.” Remus crooned. “Did you eat him? I hope he doesn’t make you sick.”

The cat’s head lifted sharply and it tensed ready to run. But the wizard’s scent was… familiar… She licked at a paw again and the wizard’s scent wafted up from the blood under her claws. Her last meal had smelt of him. She meowed quietly and eased forward, the scent drawing her closer.

“Oh, hey.” Remus smiled as the cat sniffed at his fingers. Her head pulled back and she looked at him, again. “Would you like to come with me?” He eased forward and gently lifted the cat into his arms, giving her time to understand that he meant her no harm. “There we are.” He kept his voice calm and soft. “Let’s get out of here, you’re too pretty to live like this.”

The pair walked the almost-mile to a nearby vet clinic, where Remus introduced himself and explained how he’d found the young cat in the Necropolis gardens and that, as she’d taken a liking to him and he had taken as much of a liking to her, he had decided to keep her. Would the vet have a chance to check her out and give her whatever treatment she needed?

It took an hour, but eventually, Remus left the clinic with the cat, now called Flossy, in a close approximation of the Latin translation of ‘flower’, after the flowers she’d grabbed any time Remus walked close enough for her slender legs or long neck to reach them. In a bag, which had been shrunk and shoved into a pocket, the moment he was out of sight of the clinic, there were all the necessary supplies to keep Flossy in food and toys for a month, while the cat herself sat on his shoulder and proudly wore a sparkly new collar and harness. True to Remus’ Gryffindor sorting, it was a rich red leather with gold studs, buckle and a shiny golden tag, that had her name of one side and his details on the reverse. A matching red leather leash draped over his arm and swayed with each step.

“Right then, Flossy. Let’s head home, shall we?” Remus reached up gently drew her down into his arms and after checking that he was out of sight, he cast a ten second notice-me-not on the corner of the building and as he walked around the corner, he held Flossy firmly and apparated to his home.

Flossy went rigid in his arms before snorting in surprise, but she never drew her claws or tried to bite him.

“Home, Flossy.” He lowered her to the ground and cast a spell to seal the house, before standing in front of Flossy and shifting into his Animagus form.

Flossy saw the man become a wolf and she her arched back and bared her teeth, hissing at the wolf. The wolf lay down and whined. Flossy waited but the wolf never attacked, it lay on its stomach and whined at her. Eventually, her natural curiosity got the better of her and she edge towards the wolf. The scent of her human (her wolf?), filled her nose. The scent of calm, of quiet, of warmth, swirled around her and as she eased closer, the scent got stronger. The scent was coming from the wolf.

Flossy leant against the wolf’s neck and began to wash its ears, her paw resting on the wolf’s snout, the wolf snorted but made no move to get out from under her paw. Minutes passed and the pair settled down to snooze in the late afternoon sun.


	17. Chapter 17

_“Home, Flossy.” He lowered her to the ground and cast a spell to seal the house, before standing in front of Flossy and shifting into his Animagus form._

_Flossy saw the man become a wolf and she her arched back and bared her teeth, hissing at the wolf. The wolf lay down and whined. Flossy waited but the wolf never attacked, it lay on its stomach and whined at her. Eventually, her natural curiosity got the better of her and she edge towards the wolf. The scent of her human (her wolf?), filled her nose. The scent of calm, of quiet, of warmth, swirled around her and as she eased closer, the scent got stronger. The scent was coming from the wolf._

_Flossy leant against the wolf’s neck and began to wash its ears, her paw resting on the wolf’s snout, the wolf snorted but made no move to get out from under her paw. Minutes passed and the pair settled down to snooze in the late afternoon sun._

“Okay.” Paddy looked across the coffee table at the five teens. “One last check.”

“Da…” Titania whined.

“Kitten.” Paddy tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “One last check.”

“Yes, Da.” Titania whined, while the twins tried to smother their snickers.

“Trunks.” Paddy said.

“Trunks.” All five teens held up a hand holding a shrunken trunk.

“Satchels.”

“Satchels.” Five satchels were held up.

“Wands.”

“Wands in holsters.” Five sleeves were lifted and forearms bared.

“Hogsmeade slips.”

“Hogsmeade slips.” Five pieces of parchment were pulled from five pockets.

“Animagi forms.”

“Animagi forms.” Five hands held up five satchels.

“Animagi.”

“Animagi.” One by one, five teens became five animals. One cat, two kites, a honey dove and a Gryfflix.

“Uncle Paddy?” Luna asked.

“Yes, Mistress Goldfeather?”

“Why is Lee a non-magical creature and the rest of us magical ones?”

“Oh, that’s to do with blood.” Paddy replied. “To have a magical Animagus form you have to have two strains of magical blood. One from each parent. Muggleborns rarely managed the transformation, if they do, they usually find that they have a magical grandparent or great-grandparent, often a squib. Meaning they’re not truly muggleborns but should be more accurately called squib-borns. Halfbloods are usually natural animals, natural meaning non-magical. To have a magical form, an Animagus has to have two magical parents, it doesn’t matter if one is a muggleborn or not, as long as both are magical.”

“Is there truth to the myth that purebloods are more likely to have magical Animagus forms, than a halfblood with two magical parents?” Fred asked.

“No.” Paddy shook his head. “A halfblood with two magical parents has just as much chance of having a magical form as a pureblood that has only ‘pure’ blood for generations.”

“Figured it might be that.” George nodded.

“Alright. Ready to go?” Paddy asked.

“Ready.” Five voices answered.

“Then let’s go.” Paddy pointed towards the floo-fireplace.

“Interesting…” Snape drawled as he entered the DADA Professor’s office.

“What is?” Remus Lupin absently replied as he used his wand to direct his books to a bookcase beside the door.

“I would not have perceived you to have been a cat person.” Snape tilted his head. “Perhaps it is Minerva’s influence? Having her as your Head of House for seven years, must have made an impact.”

“It did, but not in a positive way.” Lupin replied.

“Oh?”

“I avoided cats like the plague, after leaving Hogwarts. I always assumed that they saw too much, that it was Minerva’s Animagus form that allowed her to catch us at exactly the worst moment.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t until I got this young lady, that I worked out that it was just Minerva. Flossy is the most oblivious creature ever.”

“Could that be because of her eyes?” Snape asked.

“Being so cross-eyed?”

“Yes.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Lupin frowned. “She’s excellent at climbing trees and getting into places she can’t get out of, and quite accurate at catching moths and butterflies.” He shrugged. “I think it’s more that she just doesn’t care, things don’t interest her, so she just ignores them.”

“Selective sight?” Snape said.

“Well, look where she is.” Lupin jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

Flossy sat, with her paws flooded under her, on Lupin’s broom as it rested on a pair of brackets above the door to his private quarters. Her tail swished gently in the open doorway, the broom rocking slightly in reaction.

“Ah…” Snape nodded. “I see.” He paused. “Is she part kneazle, do you think?”

“Physically, I’d say not but…?” Lupin raised his brows. “She’s certainly smart enough.”

“Indeed?” Snape arched an eyebrow.

“Oh, yes.” Lupin snorted. “If I hadn’t been so stressed by Sirius’ escape and cast the Animagus Reversal charm on her, I’d think she wasn’t truly a cat.”

“You cast the reversal charm on her?” Snape blinked in surprise.

“Oh, yes. After telling her that I wasn’t bringing her to Hogwarts unless she wore her harness at all times, and her going to fetch the damned thing? I most certainly did.”

“Ah, yes, I think I would be, too.” Snape nodded.

“That and she always seems to know the most inconvenient times to get stuck in a blasted tree.”

“No, I think that’s just a cat trait.” Snape disagreed.

“I certainly hope so.” Lupin sighed.

“But your… familiar aside, I wanted to speak with you.” Snape nodded towards Lupin private quarters.

“Sure, just give me a minute to clear my desk and we can go up.” Lupin nodded.

Five minutes later, the pair sat in Lupin’s tiny sitting room, tea and biscuits on a side table between them.

“You wanted to speak to me?” Lupin asked.

“Yes, I did.” Snape gently put his cup down. “Two things. First? Have you heard from Black?”

“Actually, I have. I was going to let you know this evening.” Lupin got to his feet and left the room briefly, returning with a small box. Sitting down, he opened the box, withdrew a wad of parchment and began to sort through them. “The letters from Harry and Sirius that we found in the shack.” He laid them back in the box. “Now, these?” He held up two letters. “These came over the summer. Both were posted from Diagon Alley and both were sent during the busiest time of day and the Postmaster doesn’t remember who brought them.”

“Blast.” Snape huffed.

“Yeah.” Lupin sighed again. “And there’s nothing in them, as far as I can work out that can identify who he is now.”

“I see.” Snape frowned. “May I?”

“Certainly.” Lupin answered and handed the two letters to Snape.

_Dear Moony._

_Well, I did it. Sirius Black is gone. I have a new name but I’m not ready to hand that out yet. Sorry._

_I emptied my vault and Harry emptied his before he_

_I emptied my vault and used that and what Harry gave to buy a place in the country. It’s rather a sweet little place. An old stone cottage with a few outbuildings. I kept the hippogriff, it seems to like it here and has made no effort to leave, but I still refuse to hand feed anything larger the me._

_I spend a lot of my time puttering in the garden, Lily was right, you know, getting your hands in good dirt is good for your soul. I no longer wake up screaming everything night. Maybe once a week. I still burn water, I had to get an elf to handle the kitchen or I’d never eat. Thankfully, he’s a good cook. I don’t think I’ve eaten better since we were at Hogwarts._

_Hope all is well for you, being back at Hogwarts suits you, we always said you made an excellent teacher._

_Oops, the elf wants me to go into the village and get some spices for a pie for dessert. I’d better move or he’ll be after be with a rolling pin._

_Your brother._

**_🐾_ **

_Dear Moony_

_All is fine here. Well, sort of. I had a little accident yesterday and my broom is in two pieces, the kitchen window needs repairing, three pots are crushed, the herb garden ended up spread out over half the patio and the elf walloped me with a wooden spoon. My butt still hurts._

_Don’t laugh._

_I miss you. I miss our crazy romps in the forest. I miss going for late night raids on the kitchens. I miss sitting up later at night to talk with you and James. I even miss Snape. Not sure why but I do._

_Okay, that was depressing. I woke up this morning and read what I’d written and_

_Yeah, depressing._

_Not today. Today I’m going shopping for a new broom and some paint for one of the bedrooms and for the little room off the utility room, for the elf. The elf wants bright green and I want blue. Guess who won that argument?_

_Yeah, the elf._

_At least he doesn’t try and run the rest of the house._

_All-in-all, pretty good today._

_I’ll drop this in the post when I go to the Alley, I have number of errands to run._

**_🐾_ **

_P.S. Where did you get the cat?_

“The cat?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s been somewhere that he could see you.” Snape mused.

“Obviously, but then, he’s been to the Alley.” Lupin said, suddenly leaning forward.

“A cottage in the country…” Snape pulled a notepad from his pocket and made note

“But close to a village.” Lupin added and Snape wrote the comment down.

“He has an elf.” Snape made another note.

“A strong-minded elf, if he went after Sirius with a wooden spoon.” Lupin snorted.

The two men read the letter over and over, pulling out fact after fact from the sparse lines. Suddenly Lupin sat upright and swore.

“Bollocks.” He grabbed the first letter box and spread it out in front of himself. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” He tapped the letter with his wand and waited, scarcely daring to breathe.

“Lupin?”

“Wait, just wait.” Lupin held up a hand. “Please, Siri, please.” He begged and sure enough, the hastily inked letters faded away and another set bled into being.

_Moony._

_This sucks. I listened to everything Harry said and boy is there a lot of shit that’s happened to our prongslet._

_First year, McGonagall sent him in detention with Hagrid and the idiot took them into the forest after something that was killing unicorns. First year, for Merlin’s sake. Then there was the debacle over the stone. The staff put a bloody Cerberus in the school and hid it behind a door that could be opened by a first year. Poor Harry watched a teacher burn to death and bloody Dumbledore did nothing beyond send him back to abusive muggles._

_Second year, there was something petrifying students and the staff did nothing. Harry and one of his mates went after the culprit, which was a basilisk! A basilisk, Moony, in a bloody school and not one adult did anything about it, nor did they do anything to stop the entire school from turning on Harry for being a parselmouth. And the DADA Professor was Lockhart and we know how useless he was, always standing in front of a bloody mirror. Harry had to fight a bloody basilisk! He was 12 years old, Moony, 12! And he was fighting a basilisk while the staff twiddled their proverbial thumbs and did nothing._

_And this last year? Dementors. Who in their right mind puts bloody dementors around a school full of children that can’t protect themselves from the monsters? The Ministry and Dumbledore, that’s who._

_At least Harry had Snape. He told me about Snape saving his life and not just once but many times. A cursed broom. Working with Lockhart in a duelling club, he hated Lockhart more than he ever hated us and that’s saying something. Coming after the kids the night we caught Peter. Stepping front of the kids in the forest, when you lost control of your Animagus wolf. I know that you would never hurt Harry, but he didn’t and he still stood between the pair of you._

_And Voldemort. Fuck, Voldemort is the biggest screwup yet._

_Horcruxes, Gods above, Moony. The idiot made horcruxes. And Dumbledore and the Ministry left it to Harry to hunt them down and destroy them. He’s 13 years old and the safety of our world was lumped on his shoulders. No kid should have to carry that._

_And now he’s going to drink a potion that will_

_By morning our sweet little prongslet will be d_

_We’ll never see him again._

_It hurts, Moony. It hurts my heart to know what he’s been through, so I know that it will hurt yours, but I felt you needed to know._

_At Harry’s request, I’m using potions to change my identity, a conversion potion to change my name and appearance and an age recalibration potion to alter my age a little. Then Harry found me a platinum and diamond time turner and told me to use it, before lecturing me on ‘awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time’. I though about going and getting him, but you can’t change something you know to have already happened. At his demand, I’m to do the same as the rest of the wizarding world and forget about him. Well, not forget about him, but let the memories I have be enough. I’m not to go looking for him, I’m not to send him anything. I’m not to do anything that will bring me to the attention of the Ministry. He wants me to remember him as that happy chubby little boy. And I will. For him, I will._

_I’ll write when I can, after time catches back up, I should be_ _a bit better in my own head, by then_ _. I need to do things right, I owe Harry that and so much more. I will write to you, maybe not regularly but I will write. You won’t be able to reply, not at first, I’m not taking the chance that the Aurors will hunt me down and throw me back in Azkaban._

_I love you,_

_Your brother in heart and fur._

**_🐾_ **

Lupin reached for the other two letters and tapped his wand against them. Seconds passed and each letter changed.

_Dear Moony,_

_Hi! Long time no writing._

_That didn’t come out right. Oh, well, you know what I mean._

_You know how we laughed at James over Harry turning him purple? And he moaned and said how he wished that when we had kids, they would be just like us?_

_I have a daughter. Yes, you can laugh._

_No, I didn’t marry and no, I didn’t get a girl pregnant. I’m still gay._

_I felt lost and very alone, after I used the time turner. I saw a muggleborn, muggle trained, mind-healer for a while, it really helped. It was she that raised the subject of children and we talked about all the ways people can have children. And boy, was I surprised!_

_Some of the muggleborn witches that go back to the muggle world, do this thing called surrogacy. They carry a child for another couple and aren’t related in any way to that child. Even gay couples can have children using surrogates, they just have to get someone to donate either sperm or eggs, depending on whether they are male or female._

_So, I have a daughter._

_Oh man, she’s a handful but the most beautiful thing I’ve ever done. I love her so much. And before you ask, yes, she’s magical. The first thing I saw her do was summon a piece of jewellery across the room. And she loves her broom, she’d be on it all day every day, if I let her._

_I’d like to think that I’m a good father, but I don’t know. I do know that I’m nothing like my father and I spend a heck of a lot of time thinking, ‘what would Fleamont do?' or 'what would James do?’ before I jump in._

_I’m learning to think before I leap. Who’d have thought it possible? Not me._

_Anyway, she’s off to Hogwarts soon. Too soon for my peace of mind, she’s growing up so fast. She’s going to be a stunning young woman, thank Merlin she doesn’t take after me. If you stay at Hogwarts long enough, you’ll get to teach her, you might not know who she is, but she’ll know you and who knows? Maybe by then, I’ll have been brave enough to actually approach you._

_Maybe._

_I’d better sign off, my kitten wants to go on a picnic and if I’m not careful, she’ll take the hippogriff instead of me._

_Your brother_

**_🐾_ **

_Dear Moony._

_How you doing?_

_Things are good here._

_Summer is beautiful and my kitten has brought home a few friends, so I’m surrounded by kidlets. Picking up after them is a lesson on caution. Frogs and bird eggs and worms and even a few crickets. I hate creepy-crawlies. Ugh._

_Kitten bought our elf a puffskein yesterday, don’t ask me why, I haven’t figured it out. The little guy wears it like a hat and talks to it almost constantly. At least he likes it._

_We had a picnic for Harry’s birthday, down by the pond, kids running in all directions. I think Harry would have approved. I think James and Lils would have, too._

_I’ve been telling kitten about our time at Hogwarts and it’s hard. I’m only now realising how much of a bastard I was to others, mostly Snape, but Reg and Crouch copped it, too. I’m not proud of it. Looking back, I was a right asshole._

_I’d like to think that I’ve got better, but I don’t know. Remembering what Harry had been through at the hands of those muggles and at Hogwarts, I really want to smack Dumbledore upside the head. Maybe with a bludger or two. But I remind myself that, that’s not what Harry would want me to do._

_My garden is looking good. Even my potion ingredients garden is growing well, too well it seems, I’m having to harvest on an almost daily basis, just to keep it under control. I’m thinking about drying the excess and selling it. I’ll see what the local apothecary has to say about the quality of it._

_Frank would be laughing his ass off, me making a living as a herbologist._

_If I get around to telling you who I am now, I might ask for an introduction to Snape, see if he’s interested in my not so little garden. Maybe. It scares me, the thought of telling you who I am, now. I don’t know why, but it does. Sometimes, I write you letters, telling you. They get screwed up and burnt. I’m such a coward. But I did make my daughter a promise. Before she graduates from Hogwarts, you’ll know who I am. If you haven’t figured it out by spotting her._

_I think it’s more likely that one of her friends will spill the potion first, but hey, she’s my daughter, for all I know, she could just walk right up to you and say ‘hello, Uncle Moony’._

_Whoops, something just went crash._

_Gotta go._

_Love_

**_🐾_ **

“I’ve a beater’s bat he can use.” Snape muttered under his breath.

“Wasn’t there a cursed bludger sent after Harry?” Lupin asked.

“Yes, apparently it was sent by a house-elf.” Snape’s lips twitched.

“You wouldn’t happen to know which elf?” Lupin asked, an innocent expression on his face.

“I’m beginning to understand your interest in pranks.” Snape said and then froze. “I wonder…?”

“Yes…?”

“I wonder if we could send a request.”

“To whom?”

“The Princesses of Pranks.” Snape let a sly smile show

“Who?” Lupin asked.

“Let me tell you what I know about them.” Snape smirked. “The Weasley twins were the resident pranksters, until the Princesses decided that they needed taking down a peg or two. And now they regularly target the boys. They’ve turned the boys’ hair different colours, changed their…”


	18. Chapter 18

_“I’ve a beater’s bat he can use.” Snape muttered under his breath._

_“Wasn’t there a cursed bludger sent after Harry?” Lupin asked._

_“Yes, apparently it was sent by a house-elf.” Snape’s lips twitched._

_“You wouldn’t happen to know which elf?” Lupin asked, an innocent expression on his face._

_“I’m beginning to understand your interest in pranks.” Snape said and then froze. “I wonder…?”_

_“Yes…?”_

_“I wonder if we could send a request.”_

_“To whom?”_

_“The Princesses of Pranks.” Snape let a sly smile show_

_“Who?” Lupin asked._

_“Let me tell you what I know about them.” Snape smirked. “The Weasley twins were the resident pranksters, until the Princesses decided that they needed taking down a peg or two. And now they regularly target the boys. They’ve turned the boys’ hair different colours, changed their…”_

The Duelling Master studied his two former students, seeing little of the young boys they had once been. He had read and re-read the letters, dragging out of them every nuance he could, scribbling notes and making hypothetical guesses, before cross-referencing them against Snape and Lupin’s notes.

“Very interesting, gentlemen.” He picked up his cup and sipped at his tea, passing his sheet of parchment across to them. “What next? There’s not enough here to locate him. Not without significant time spent searching. And let’s be honest, lads? If we were to find him, before he were ready to face you? He wouldn’t be very receptive, in fact, I could see him reacting quite negatively.”

“Yes, that’s our impression, too.” Lupin said.

“That wasn’t why we brought this to you.” Snape added.

“Then why…?” Flitwick asked, then frowned. “The Headmaster?”

“Indeed.” Snape nodded. “He’s known what’s been going on for years and he’s made no effort to do anything.”

“And as a result, Harry is dead. The old man may regret it but that didn’t stop him from letting it happen.” Lupin said.

“From encouraging the boy, from laying traps for him and making plans for the boy’s future.” Snape added. “All without once considering if he was wrong, or if his plans were faulty.”

“And you want to what? Be the bludger that Black mentioned?”

“Oh, no.” Lupin laughed.

“No.” Snape agreed.

“We do believe that a bludger isn’t a bad idea.” Lupin allowed.

“But we are thinking a little more… subtly… is needed.” Snape smirked.

“Then…?”

“The Princesses of Pranks.” Lupin replied. “We’d like to contact them.”

“We’d like to find out who they are and see if we might point them at our esteemed employer.” Snape added replied.

“Ah, yes, I can see how you might come to that conclusion.” Flitwick nodded. “But that doesn’t explain why you’ve approached me.”

“Oh, right.” Lupin grimaced. “We need a spy.”

“ ** _He_** knows who the Princesses are or at least who one of them is.” Snape explained. “We can’t sent a request if we don’t know who she is.”

“Ah…” Flitwick’s eyes lit with understanding. “And you want me to broach the subject with him?”

“No.” Snape objected. “We want you to find out, which of the students’ homes or families, he’s visited, personally, himself.”

“From there we should be able to narrow it down enough to send a request.” Lupin gave him a slight smile.

“Since when? Do you have a timeframe?” Flitwick tilted his head in thought.

“The 1992 intake.” Snape said. “The Weasley twins were targeted by them, for the first time, that Halloween.”

“Yes, he commented on it, said something about having been warned?” Flitwick tried to remember exactly what was said.”

“No, that was later, the leaving feast.” Snape said.

“Oh yes, he said something about… who she was related to… a Black disowned in the 1920’s, I believe…”

“Yes.” Snape nodded. “And Lupin, a-”

“Lupin?” Lupin exclaimed.

“Apparently.” Snape replied. “He believes there is a maternal ancestor… from the…”

“1890’s!” Flitwick gasped.

“Yes.”

“Interesting…” Lupin said slowly. “I might be able to narrow the field down, even more, when we have a few possible suspects.”

“I shall do my best to give you those suspects.” Flitwick grinned slyly.

Up in the Gryffindor dorms, Titania and Luna studied the Marauders’ map. The Marauders’, not the Corsairs’ map. They sat on fat cushions in front of the floo-fireplace in Titania’s trunk, while Paddy studied the Corsairs’ map in the living room of their cottage in Wales.

“Moony and Snape? Working together?” Paddy grimaced. “That’s not good.”

“But why would they go to Flitwick and not McGonagall?” Titania asked.

Paddy hummed, rocking his head from side to side as he thought. “Maybe… Maybe, it’s because she’s the Deputy. She’s very close to Dumbledore.” He finally offered. “She was also involved in leaving Harry with his Aunt.

“True.” Titania said before turning to Luna. “What do you think?”

“I think that they never even considered her. The entire decision was based on a conversation that Snape and Flitwick had with the Headmaster in the Great Hall, some time ago.” Luna tilted her head and looked into the distance. “They’re looking for us.” She paused. “No, not us. They’re looking for the Princesses of Pranks… they have a request…” Her voice was low and slow, a little hesitant.

“Ooh…” Titania breathed her exclamation.

“So what do you suggest we do, Luna?” Paddy asked.

Luna’s face went blank and her eyes moved behind closed lids. Paddy watched through the flames, he’d not seen her like this before, Titania waited patiently, she knew what was happening to Luna. Eventually, the young Seer opened her eyes.

“The twins and Lee know that we’re the Princesses.” She said.

“They do.” Titania agreed.

“It’s time to let Professor Snape and Professor Moony know who we are.” Luna added.

“The Princess bit or…?” Paddy asked.

“Just the Princess stuff.” Luna shook her head. “They’re not ready for the rest yet. Neither group. The twins? I think we need to wait until they graduate.”

“And the three Professors?” Paddy asked.

“That needs to happen in two stages.” Luna replied. “At yule? Tell them that Uncle Paddy was Sirius Black and that Titania is his daughter. But not about Harry. Not until we graduate.”

“That sounds fair.” Paddy nodded slowly.

“And Titania and I will be graduating with Harry’s year.” Luna advised.

“With Harry’s- Why?” Paddy asked.

“Why not?” Luna replied.

“Uh…?” Paddy grunted but couldn’t form a coherent reply.

“Question?” Titania asked, looking at Luna.

“Yes…” Luna turned her own gaze from a dumbfounded Paddy to the other girl.

“Wouldn’t telling the Professors that I’m Padfoot’s daughter be the same as telling them that I’m one of the Princesses?” Titania wanted to know.

Luna tilted her head and worked her way through the question and the possible answers, her head falling forward and her eyes closing as she thought. It took a few minutes before she began to nod.

“Still yule.” She finally said. “No earlier than a week before the holidays. And we should bring the twins in, too.” She grinned. “Although…? Think about the expressions on their faces when they figure out, we’re working with them.”

“Which ‘they’, Luna?” Paddy snorted.

“Both.” Luna’s grin grew teeth. “The twins will think it the greatest prank ever, if we’re working with some of the Professors. And the Professors will be absolutely horrified that we’re working with the twins and not against them.”

“Oh, hell.” Paddy laughed. “I want to see a memory of that.”

Lupin read the list of names sent to him from Professor Flitwick and hummed. It was a short list and he should be able to narrow it down even further, with a little bit of research.

Snape walked into Lupin’s office as though it were his own and sat down opposite the other wizard, both ignoring the extensive Christmas decorations that the elves seemed to be putting in every room in the castle.

“Good afternoon, Lupin.” His silky voice filled the room.

“Snape.” Lupin passed the note across the desk.

“Hmm…” Snape’s lips twisted as he read the list. “That’s longer than I’d expected.”

“It is.” Lupin nodded.

A tapping at a window distracted the two wizards.

“Expecting something?” Snape asked.

“No…” Lupin shook his head and drew his wand. The window opened and an OwlPost owl fluttered through the open space and dropped an envelope on the desk and flew away. Lupin waved his wand over the envelope and chanted a few phrases. “Clear.” He said and tucked his want back into it’s holster. He opened the envelope and drew out the letter, quickly reading the few lines.

_Hey Moony._

_Back at school, huh? Still enjoying it? Hope so._

_So, Christmas is coming. I love yule, it’s my favourite time of the year. Always has been. Kitten will be coming home for the holidays and somehow her friends have gotten permission to join us for the festivities. It’s going to be a madhouse. Three sixth year boys and two third year girls and kitten’s host of critters. There won’t be a quiet moment to be had._

_Sounds like fun, don’t it?_

_You know what to do._

**_🐾_ **

“Three sixth year boys?” Lupin muttered. “What?”

“Excuse me?” Snape asked. Lupin handed over the letter. “Three sixth boys and… That doesn’t make sense.” The potions Master said after reading the short message.

Lupin took the letter back and tapped it with his wand. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” The writing bled into the parchment and new words began to form.

_Dear Moony_

_Hi. How’s things at dear old Hoggy Hogwarts?_

_My kitten driving you barmy, yet? What about her cohorts? Any of them given the game away?_

_You haven’t written to me yet or turned up on my doorstep, screaming blue murder, so obviously not._

_Seriously, though, that girl of mine is in a league of her own._

_It all started with that blasted hippogriff. Within days of moving into this house, the hippogriff had built a nest on her balcony. Then it was a bunch of snidgets, that decided to use her bedpost to make their nest on. Then she found an injured Augurey and brought it home. At last count we have the hippogriff, a handful of snidgets, the Augurey, a fwooper that can sing, a pony Pegasus, a jaberknoll that likes to harmonise with the fwooper and the second of my kitten’s familiars – a griffin cub. Not to mention the familiar she took with to Hogwarts._

_And you know? I thought it was only feathered critters, that she collected. I was wrong._

_She starts at Hogwarts and brings home one of her dormmates for yule and little less than a year later, I’m off to Gringotts to fill out a Crisis Guardianship Contract. And then this last summer? Then the end of her second year? She brings home boys._

_Boys. Moony, my 12-year-old daughter brought home 15-year-old boys. And not just one either, but three of them. Three!_

_And if that’s not bad enough, the middle of August, just gone? The father of two of them floo’s me and asks if I’d foster them. They’re the middle pair in a large family and their mother’s had a breakdown. Harry’s death hit them hard and their mother has been having flashbacks to her own brothers’ deaths as a result. She’s spending a lot of time smothering the younger kids, but the twins are conveniently forgotten, their father thinks it to do with the fact that they’re twins and look like her brothers. I don’t see it, but hey, I’m not their sister._

_And the third boy, he’s a muggle-raised halfblood, his father was an Auror and was killed in a raid on Knockturn, his mother’s a muggle, she works for one of the airlines, don’t ask me which one, his older sister’s at Uni up in Edinburgh and isn’t allowed to have him stay with her on campus._

_So, now I’ve got, basically, five kids._

_Stop laughing. I didn’t plan on it, it just happened._

_Anyway, I was talking to kitten and the kidlets and we decided that we should invite you for yule, seeing as Dumbledore insists that Hogwarts only celebrates Christmas, you won’t get a real yule otherwise._

_Kitten also says, you’re spending a lot of time with Flitwick and Snape, so if you want to bring them along, too, we’re fine with that._

_Anyway, I’d better get a move on. There’s only so many days left before I’m inundated with kids and I want to get the shopping over with._

_See you soon._

**_🐾_ **

“Oh, my…” Lupin passed the letter across to Snape and watched as he read it.

“Really?” Snape groaned. “ ** _His_** daughter is teaming up with…” Snape trailed off before cursing. **_“Oh bloody bollocks!”_** He snarled.

“What?” Lupin asked. “What did I miss?”

“Who else but **_his_** daughter could the Princess of Pranks?” Snape glared at the letter. “And she’s teamed up with the twins. How many pairs of twin boys in sixth year do you think we have? **_Dammit!”_**

“His daughter? Who’s daughter?” Lupin.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Lupin!” Snape moved his glare from the letter to the other wizard.

“What has you two glaring at each other so severely?” Filius Flitwick entered the office. “Ah, I see you got my list. Any one on there, that catches your eye, Remus?”

“Forget the list we know who they are and who he is.” Snape huffed.

“We do?” Remus blinked.

“We do?” Flitwick paused in mid-step.

“Read this.” Snape held up the recently delivered letter. “It was sent to Lupin, just a few minutes ago.”

“May I?” Flitwick looked to Lupin for permission. The Sandy haired wizard nodded and watched as Snape passed the single sheet of parchment to Flitwick. Seconds passed while the charms Professor read the letter, then sat back with a frown on his face. “I see. Well, that explains a lot.”

“What does?” Lupin asked.

“He hasn’t figured it out yet.” Snape sighed as he said this to Flitwick.

“Really? I would have expected…”

“No.” Snape sighed again. “I think he’s trying too hard, that he’s just not seeing it.”

“Ah, yes, that’s a possibility.” The charms Professor nodded.

“Alright.” Lupin huffed. “What did I miss?” Before Snape and Flitwick could answer, there was a tapping at the student-access door to the office. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood, crossed to the door and opened it. “Miss Grimmley? What can I do for you?”

The third year Gryffindor didn’t answer, she just ducked under his arm and entered the office.

“Good afternoon, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick.” She cast a quick glance at the desk and spotted her father’s writing. “Oh, good, you got Da’s letter.”

“Da’s letter?” Lupin asked.

“Well, yeah.” Titania gestured towards the desk. “Are you coming for yule or not?’

“What?” Lupin asked, seemingly confused.

“Miss Grimmley?” Snape cut in. “It seems Professor Lupin hasn’t figured out who your father is, yet.”

“Oh, hell. Uncle Moony... I thought you were _**smarter**_ than that.” Titania whined.


	19. Chapter 19

_“He hasn’t figured it out yet.” Snape sighed as he said this to Flitwick._

_“Really? I would have expected…”_

_“No.” Snape sighed again. “I think he’s trying too hard, that he’s just not seeing it.”_

_“Ah, yes, that’s a possibility.” The charms Professor nodded._

_“Alright.” Lupin huffed. “What did I miss?” Before Snape and Flitwick could answer, there was a tapping at the student-access door to the office. “Excuse me for a moment.” He stood, crossed to the door and opened it. “Miss Grimmley? What can I do for you?”_

_The third year Gryffindor didn’t answer, she just ducked under his arm and entered the office._

_“Good afternoon, Professor Snape, Professor Flitwick.” She cast a quick glance at the desk and spotted her father’s writing. “Oh, good, you got Da’s letter.”_

_“Da’s letter?” Lupin asked._

_“Well, yeah.” Titania gestured towards the desk. “Are you coming for yule or not?’_

_“What?” Lupin asked, seemingly confused._

_“Miss Grimmley?” Snape cut in. “It seems Professor Lupin hasn’t figured out who your father is, yet.”_

_“Oh, hell Uncle Moony. I thought you were smarter than that.” Titania whined._

Severus Snape stepped from a floo-fireplace into a neat reception room. In front of him stood the two other Professors from Hogwarts and an unknown man. Snape studied the unknown man, his eyes tracing the well-defined but not overly broad shoulders, that rose above a lean-lined body and down to the surprisingly bared feet, before returning to the man's face.

He meet the man’s eyes and his own widened, they were identical to what he recalled, but far saner than he expected them to be. However, if he hadn’t known that this was the same man, there was nothing that would suggest to you that he was… or had ever been… Sirius Black.

“You are not…” Snape began, only to fall silent, he didn’t know what to say or how to say it.

“No.” Paddy shook his head. “I was, but not anymore.”

“Conversion potions?” Snape asked.

Paddy laughed. “Harry was amazing. It was all his idea.”

“His idea?” Flitwick prompted.

“Well, yeah.” Paddy replied. “I’d been gone less than an hour when he sent me a Patronus.” He looked at Lupin. “It was a stag, Harry’s Patronus was James' stag.”

“I know, I remember.” Lupin gave him a watery smile.

“Anyway he sent a Patronus and told me to land the hippogriff, we had a problem. He’d overheard Trelawney arguing with you.” He nodded to Snape. “From there, he got a house elf to pop him out of the hospital and we met. It was his idea. The potions, the oaths, the new identity and the time turner. He made sure that I’d done everything and that it would stand up to Gringotts and Dumbledore’s scrutiny, before he took his own potion.” Lupin made a whining sound. “He said he was ready. That dying for the wizarding world was not an option, but that dying to keep his friends safe, was.”

“He really died for us?” Flitwick asked.

“Yeah…” Paddy sighed, he didn’t like lying to them, even if it wasn't really a lie, but it wasn’t the right time to give an in-depth explanation.

“And the Dark Lord is truly gone?” Snape asked, his tone a little hesitant.

“Yes.” Paddy nodded. “I didn’t watch how he did it. He said that I had to be out of sight, as the memory was to be sent to the DMLE. But I listened and it was… foul. Ghastly screams and howls. Urgh…” He shuddered. “It gave me nightmares for weeks. Three weeks after arriving, I began to see a mind-healer, I implied that I’d been captured by snakeface’s people and the healer never asked for more detail. It took me a year of seeing her before I started to improve.”

“And she was the one to tell you about… having a child?” Lupin asked.

“She was pregnant and explained that the child she was carrying wasn’t hers, from there the conversation went to surrogates and families and what was involved in becoming a parent.” Paddy nodded. “I told her about my childhood, leaving out names and some details.”

“Ouch.” Lupin grimaced.

“Yeah, initially, it was, but given enough time, I worked passed it.” Paddy shrugged. “Having Titania certainly helped.”

“She is quite gifted.” Flitwick said.

“We did enjoy her… vision… for the twins.” Snape added, slyly.

Paddy barked a laugh. “Oh, that was good. She sends me phials of memories each week. Turning the boys green was… inspired. But I do think my favourite was spiking their drinks with the Animagus Identification potion.”

“Talking of…? Where is the young lady in question?” Flitwick asked.

“Out the back.” Paddy gestured through the house. “They’re trying to teach the griffin cub, Helios, to fly. Unfortunately, he hasn’t got the hang of it yet. Well, he got flying sorted, but not landing. So far, someone’s got to catch him or put a cushioning charm out for him.” He chuckled. “He’s had some pretty spectacular fails. Feathers everywhere, knocking people or other critters, ass over teakettle. Even went headfirst into the well, once, thankfully he was too big to actually fall _**into**_ the well, but he couldn’t get out without some help.”

“Griffin cub?” Flitwick asked.

“Yeah, he’s the second of her familiars.” Paddy replied. “Apollo was her first.”

“She has two familiars?” Snape looked askance. “Are you certain?”

“Dumbledore is. Shacklebolt called him in to do some Intent Scans. Titania’s collected a weird selection of critters and… well…? Some of them are… oddities.”

“Oddities?” Snape raised a brow, what would the man who had once been Sirius Black, consider an oddity?

“Well, let’s see…” Paddy smirked. “There’s a hippogriff that likes to preen her hair. Snidgets that move like they’re feathered ribbons. An Augurey that likes to bask in the sun. A fwooper that sings Christmas carols, all year round. A pyrehawk that likes to join her in the shower. A jaberknoll that harmonises with the fwooper. A pony-sized Pegasus. The griffin cub. A Seer. A pair of twin pranksters. And a quidditch obsessed wizard, who’s terrified of heights.”

Flitwick, Snape and Lupin could only blink.

“And **_all_** of them want to sleep in her room, with her.” Paddy huffed. “I don’t know how many times I’ve had to order the boys back to their own room, only to find them camped on her floor, come morning.”

Finally, Lupin seemed to get his shock under control, he just looked at Paddy and shook his head.

“Oh, gods, I have missed you, you irresponsible mutt.” Lupin began to laugh. “Only you would get a kid just like you.” He stepped forward to hug Paddy, slapping him on the back before he stood back.

“I’ll thank you very much, to not say that, my daughter is far more amazing than I ever was.” Paddy was insulted.

“And better at potions, too, it seems.” Snape added.

“God, I hope so.” Paddy sighed. “Do you remember James and I blowing that student lab up?”

“I do.” Snape snickered. “The expressions on your faces as you bounced along the hall’s ceiling? That was a memory worthy of a Patronus.”

Paddy barked a laugh. “Wasn’t it just?”

“Miss Titania does quite well, for a Gryffindor.” Snape allowed.

“For a Gryffindor, she does brilliantly.” Paddy defended his daughter. “Maybe not for a snake or an eagle, but for a lion? Yeah, she’s brilliant.”

Snape tilted his head. “Agreed.”

“Anyway, come on through. No more standing around the floo, like nifflers around a gilded lamppost.” Paddy lead the three Professors through the cottage and into a kitchen with large windows looking out over a wide patio and a snow-covered yard. “There they are.” He pointed and the four focused their attention on the gaggle of children and animals that flitted about the fenced off yard.

“Oh, my.” Flitwick gasped.

“How long has she been flying?” Snape demanded.

“First birthday, I bought a kid's broom.” Paddy grinned.

“She looks like she was born with a broom in her hand.” Flitwick marvelled.

“Just like Harry.” Lupin gave a sad smile.

“I do believe she may be better than he was.” Snape said. “She’s certainly better than you ever were.”

“Yeah, she takes after Reg.” Paddy snorted.

“She far better than he was.” Snape disagreed.

“You think?”

“Oh, definitely.” Snape replied. “I watched him try that manoeuvre for weeks and still not get it right.”

“Really? She’s been doing that since she was… I dunno… nine? Ten, definitely.” Paddy responded. “Who wants a drink? Over here, come and have a seat, no use standing around in a kitchen that we aren’t allowed to touch. The elf rules the kitchen, touch things at your peril.”

“My kitchen.” Dobby appeared beside Paddy with a tray held in his little hands. “Drinks for Master Paddy’s guests. Dirigible plum wine for Professor charms. Crazyberry brandy for Professor wolf and Rhubarb wine for Professor potions.”

“Nothing for you?”

“No, during the holidays I stick to butterbeer.” Paddy replied, gesturing to a bottle on an end table, nearby. “Seeing as this is our yule celebration, I might relax and have a small boomberry brandy, but nothing more than that. I can’t risk getting smashed, not with five kids depending on me.”

“You have changed.” Snape said.

“I grew up.” Paddy corrected. “It only took eleven years in Azkaban, three years with a mind healer and that beautiful girl out there. But I did eventually grow up.”

“It happens to all of us, sooner or later.” Lupin sighed. “Whether we want it to or not.”

“I don’t regret it.” Paddy said. “Titania is worth it. So worth it.”

The four sat down in front of the windows, their attention on the sight outside. For the next hour, they chatted, nothing important was said, nothing of consequence. Until Snape turned to Paddy.

“One of your letters mentioned potions ingredients.” Snape commented.

“It did?”

“It did.” Snape nodded. “If I recall…? You were harvesting almost daily and were thinking of selling the surplus.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Paddy’s confusion cleared as he remembered. “Yeah, even over winter, the ingredients greenhouse is thriving.”

“I would be interested in viewing the produce.”

“Sure, but after lunch. Dobby’s been working his little tail off, making a feast for us.” Paddy laughed. “But I doubt there’ll be much left over. It’s got to feed us, as well as five active teens, three of which are growing boys.”

As the three Professors re-entered Hogwarts, they were greeted by a black-robed Dumbledore.

“Good evening, gentlemen.” The Headmaster said as they reached the Great Hall. “I hope you had a pleasant outing?”

The three exchanged glances and Snape spoke. “We did. Miss Grimmley’s father extented an invitation to join them for a yule celebration.”

“Miss Grimmley?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yes. In gratitude for extra-curricular lessons for her and his foster children.” Flitwick replied.

“Extra-curricular lessons? Foster children?” Dumbledore looked from Snape to Flitwick and back.

“Yes. Mister Grimmley is now parent to his own daughter, Titania, as well as Miss Lovegood, Mr Jordan and Mr’s Fred and George Weasley.” Snape said.

“Molly had a bad reaction Harry’s dea… to Harry’s actions.” Lupin paused briefly before he went on. “She’s suffering flashbacks to Fabian and Gideon’s deaths.”

“And because Fred and George look so much like their uncles?” Flitwick began to explain. “Molly can’t tolerate them being around. She breaks down in tears and refuses to look at them. Arthur decided that it would be better for the boys… and for Molly… if he found someone to foster them. He spoke to Amos Diggory and Paddy Grimmley was suggested.”

Dumbledore’s eyes widened as he recalled his visit to the Grimmley home and the warning/challenge that he was given. “Oh, my…” He whispered. “When did this happen?”

“Over the summer.” Flitwick answered. “I understand that he’d been giving the lads extra-curricular lessons during the previous summer, as well.”

“I see…” Dumbledore closed his eyes as though pained, before another thought occured to him. “Oh, Remus. If you should hear from Sirius, please let him know that his name has been officially cleared, if he should wish to return.”

“I have spoken to him recently, well… by spoken, I mean, he's written to me, but… you understand.” Lupin grimaced. “He has clearly stated that irrespective of being cleared, he will not be bringing his family back to Scotland for a few more years, if ever.”

“I see…” Dumbledore sighed. “If I were to give you a letter for him, would you forward it to him?”

“Only if you leave off any charms.” Lupin said. “Sirius is almost militant about his family’s safety.”

“I shall remember that.” Dumbledore nodded, before pausing. “Family?”

“Long story and I don’t have his permission to tell you. I can ask for it, but until then…?” Lupin shrugged. “I’m under oath.” He didn't say what the oath was or to whom.

“Ah. I will write up a letter, I would appreciate a chance to meet with him.” Dumbledore paused again. “On his terms. There’s a lot I would like to tell him.”

“I can only ask.” Lupin warned. “No magics and I’ll forward a letter, magic and I’ll burn it.”

“Agreed.” Dumbledore nodded. “If you would excuse me, it seems that I have a letter to write. Good evening.”

“Good evening, Headmaster.” Snape gave a bow of his head.

“Good evening, Albus.” Flitwick said.

“Good evening, Professor.” Lupin also dipped his head.

As the Headmaster began to ascend the stairs towards his office, the three Professors headed for the DADA tower.

“I wonder what the Hellions have planned for the rest of the school year?” Snape asked.


	20. Chapter 20

_“Ah. I will write up a letter, I would appreciate a chance to meet with him.” Dumbledore paused again. “On his terms. There’s a lot I would like to tell him.”_

_“I can only ask.” Lupin warned. “No magics and I’ll forward a letter, magic and I’ll burn it.”_

_“Agreed.” Dumbledore nodded. “If you would excuse me, it seems that I have a letter to write. Good evening.”_

_“Good evening, Headmaster.” Snape gave a bow of his head._

_“Good evening, Albus.” Flitwick said._

_“Good evening, Professor.” Lupin also dipped his head._

_As the Headmaster began to ascend the stairs towards his office, the three Professors headed for the DADA tower._

_“I wonder what the Hellions have planned for the rest of the school year?” Snape asked._

Snape looked out over the students gathered in the Great Hall and raised an eyebrow at what he saw. Many of the students looked like they’d been dunked in a vat of ink, different coloured inks, at that. Some of the Ravenclaws were striped in alternating bands of green, yellow and purple. A good chunk of the lions were striped in blue, purple and iridescent orange. The few Hufflepuffs that were coloured had bands of pale pink, deep purple and a hideously bright chanteuse green. Only a few Slytherins were wore ice blue and mauve stripes with heavy bands of bright blood red, which caused Snape to realise that those that were coloured were those that remained seated when the school had stood in memory of Potter.

“It seems that the Hellions have hit the Express.” He said quietly to Lupin.

“It does.” Lupin replied. “I wonder why?”

“Take note of who is… coloured.” Flitwick said. “Notice that only those that didn’t support Mr Diggory, Miss Chang, Percy Weasley and Mr Malfoy, when they stood in memory of Harry, have been hit.”

“Really?” Lupin began to look around the Hall with a little more attention. “Well, now… I wonder how they managed to get them? Them and no-one else.”

“I have no idea.” Snape said, his voice bland and no expression on his face.

Lupin studied him for a few moments. “You know.”

Snape raised a brow in response. “Do I?”

“Yes. I remember that look.” Lupin tilted his head. “That look preluded every time one of our pranks went wrong.”

“Did it, now?” Snape let a little satisfaction trickle into his voice.

“Yes, dammit.” Lupin huffed.

“Boys, enough. Don’t scare the children.” Flitwick muttered at them.

Snape stalked into the hospital wing. “What happened?” He demanded.

“I don’t know.” Madam Pomfrey replied distractedly. “I haven’t managed to get a sensible answer out of anyone.”

“Mr Pucey?” Snape focused on the Slytherin beater.

“Sir?”

“Explain how Mr Warrington end up looking like a reject from a muggle horror film. Now.” Snape ordered.

“I don’t know, sir.” The sixth year said. “I don’t know. We were just talking and suddenly there was a bucket of water, or what I thought was water, and Adrian grew tentacles and fins.”

“And what were you discussing?” Snape frowned. What was he missing?”

“Um…”

“Answer me and do it fast, before I hand you over to the matron.” Snape glared at the silent teen.

“We were talking about the tri-wizard tournament and how they cancelled it because Potter killed himself and-”

“Stop.” Snape leant his head forward and rubbed at his forehead. “You were discussing the death of a student in derogatory terms and blamed that student for the cancelation of a contest that holds the dubious honour of being responsible for more deaths than all the Dark Lords that have ever set foot on British soil, put together. And you did this where you could be overheard. Am I correct?”

“Yes, sir…” The teen whispered.

“Thank you, Mr Pucey. You know full well, my position on the subject. Yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“What is that position?” Snape raised a brow in question.

“Freedom of speech only in our dorms or common room. Don’t speak ill of Gryffindors where anyone outside of Slytherin can hear. Don’t speak ill of anyone in public. Retaliation is not to happen in public, do it in private. Don’t get caught, either way.”

“Precisely.” Snape nodded. “And you know my stance on getting caught.”

Pucey grimaced. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Consider both yourself and Mr Warrington removed from the quidditch team for the remainder of the year.”

“But sir-”

“I have to explain this to the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall.” Snape held up a hand. “If I cannot show that I’ve issued a suitable punishment, Professor McGonagall will complain to the Headmaster and he may decide to interfere in house matters. I will not have that. I am the Head of Slytherin house in this school, not the Headmaster. You and Warrington are off the team. I suggest you head to the common room and inform Mr Bole of your suspension.”

“Yes, sir.” Pucey knew when he’d been dismissed and quickly left the hospital.

“Severus?” Pomfrey approached him. “Any information you can provide?”

“It was liquid-based, most like a potion, but there’s a possibility that there’s a charm or hex attached.” Snape replied. “I’ve a fair idea of who’s responsible, but being able to prove it? I doubt that will ever happen.”

“What did the Princesses do now?” Dumbledore entered the ward.

Snape said nothing just pointed at Warrington.

“I see.” Dumbledore nodded. “Do we know why? Any indications?”

“They were badmouthing Potter in front of Gryffindors.” Snape replied. “Blaming the cancelation of the tournament on him.”

“That wasn’t why-” Dumbledore started.

“I am aware and so were they.” Snape cut him off. “They were simply looking for a scapegoat and Potter wasn’t around to defend himself. However, they now know that whether he is here or not, he will be defended.”

“Of course.” Dumbledore backtracked. “And you handed out a detention?”

“No, I went for something a little more painful.” Snape smirked.

“Oh?”

“Both Warrington and Pucey have been suspended from the quidditch team for the rest of the year.”

“Isn’t that a little extreme?” Dumbledore asked. “Surely they aren’t the only ones thinking much the same?”

“No, they’re not.” Snape sneered. “The suspension isn’t for what they said, it’s for where they said it and for getting caught. Slytherins do not get caught in public.”

“Ah…” Dumbledore hid his chuckle. “I had forgot your… rules.”

“So had they. They will not do so again.” Snape turned away from the Headmaster. “Now, if you will excuse me, I need to try and find a counter to whatever the Princesses used to do this.” He gestured broadly towards the fishy-looking teen.

“Ah, I shall leave you to it.” Dumbledore beat a hasty retreat.

Snape entered his private lab, only to be confronted by a small herd of students.

“You five are…” Snape said before trailing off and making a frustrated noise. “Tell me there is a counter. I just informed the Headmaster that I would find said counter.”

“Of course, there’s a counter, Professor.” Lee replied cheerfully. “We wouldn’t use a semi-permanent combination like this, without one.” He held up a small phial and a scrap of parchment, before laying them on the desk. “Give him the potion and wait for thirty seconds before casting the reversal charm.”

“But we’d much appreciate it, if you’d leave him like that for a few hours.” Fred had a vicious glint in his eyes.

“Oh, I think he can wait.” Snape sneered. “Perhaps staying like he is until morning will encourage him to mind his mouth.”

“I doubt it.” George snorted. “Warrington is like Ron, no filter between his brain and his mouth.”

Snape pursed his lips as he thought about that comment. “That is… quite an astute description of the two.”

“Just because someone is family, doesn’t mean we can’t see their faults.” Titania said. “Da’s an idiot at times.”

“Not nearly as much as he used to be.” Snape replied. “In fact, he’s quite tolerable, now.”

Titania smirked. “Should I tell him, you said that, Professor?”

“I think not, Miss Grimmley.” Snape replied, his voice sharp.

“Now what did you do, kitten?” Lupin said as he entered the lab.

“Say nothing.” Snape ordered.

“You heard him, Uncle Moony.” Titania just grinned.

“Huh, traitorous child.” Lupin gave her an affectionate glance. “So, I hear that the Princesses attacked Slytherin house?”

“Not the entire house, just a single pair of idiots.” Snape answered.

“Oh, that’s alright, then.” Lupin sighed in relief.

“Agreed.” Snape lit a fire under a cauldron. “Tea?”

Dumbledore read and re-read the request a number of times, before he sighed and sent messages for a staff meeting.

Once the Professors had gathered in the Headmasters office, he picked up the letter.

“I have had a request for two students to sit their exams ahead of their peers. I am not prepared to say either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, until I know whether or not the students in question are capable of passing the exams.”

“Oh, and who would that be?” Professor Sprout asked.

“Ah, here is where it gets interesting.” Dumbledore smiled gently. “Both students have stated that, in class they’ve only maintained an ‘E’ grade and have done so deliberately and as such have requested that each Professor set them an assessment before judging their capabilities.”

“Again. Who are they?” Professor Sprout asked, her voice a little firmer, this time.

“Titania Grimmley and Luna Lovegood.” Dumbledore answered. “They wish to sit their OWLs next year.”

“I have no concerns with either’s capabilities.” Snape’s comment drew the eyes of his colleagues to him.

“I would agree.” Flitwick nodded. “I believe that both are holding back and have done since their first class.”

“Yes, I believe that they may have.” Sprout said. “I have noticed a few incidents that one or other has recognised a subject matter but deliberately not spoken up when I’ve asked for answers.”

“Same in my class, too.” Lupin said. “I’ve seen Titania send a Patronus message to her father but she’s yet to attempt one in class.” He knew full well that Paddy had taught both girls during the summer a year ago.

“What classes are they taking?” Sprout asked.

“Arithmancy, Astronomy, CoMC, Charms, DADA, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Study of Ancient Runes and Transfiguration.” McGonagall replied after consulting her notes.

“Ten subjects?” Sprout asked. “That’s a… They really think they’re ready for OWLs in ten subjects? A year early?”

“They do believe so.” Dumbledore replied. “It is, however, my responsibility to ensure that they truly are capable. I would ask each of you, to set the two an assessment that you would give to a fourth year that would be looking to start fifth year, this coming year.”

The various Professors looked around the room, before slowly nodding. “I think we can do that.” Professor Sprout allowed.

“If we are going to do that, perhaps they should be excused from classes for the remainder of the year. After all, there is less than a month before the leaving feast.” Professor Vector said. “Fourth year assessments from all of us, will challenge them almost as much if they were to sit the fourth-year end of term exams.”

“Thank you.” Dumbledore smiled. “Shall I inform the young ladies to expect requests for meetings with each of you?”

The staff gathered in the Headmaster’s office, the two Gryffindor girls once again the subject being discussed.

“Let’s discuss this in order of their classes, shall we?” Dumbledore asked. “Core classes are, of course, first. Aurora?”

Aurora Sinistra offered a small nod. “I gave Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood a fourth year, end of year assessment and when they handed it in, I marked it. I then offered them the same exam that I give to my fifth years, just before winter holiday. Both passed. Miss Grimmley just scrapped an ‘O’ while Miss Lovegood had a perfect score. I believe that both could sit their OWLs in Astronomy and pass. Today.”

“That is encouraging. Filius?”

“I didn’t bother with the fourth-year assessment.” Flitwick said. “I just set them the fifth-year winter essay and asked for a demonstration. I would have no hesitation in giving Miss Grimmley an ‘O’ and Miss Lovegood had a respectable ‘E’. However with a little more time focusing on the practical side, I believe an ’O’ is achievable.”

“Very good.” Dumbledore made a note on the form in front of him. “Remus? How are they in Defence?”

“Excellent.” Lupin replied. “Titania is probably capable of sitting her NEWTs. Luna is a little behind her but both of them are likely to get ‘O+’ on their OWLs. I wouldn’t be too surprised to find that they take the top two spaces.”

“How do they compare to Miss Granger?” McGonagall asked.

“Well ahead. Like I said, I think they’d pass their NEWTs, maybe not with an ‘O+’ but certainly a high ‘E’ or a low ‘O’. Easily.”

“Really?” McGonagall blinked in surprise.

“Easily.” Lupin repeated.

“Well.” Dumbledore kept his composure, but only just. “Pomona?”

“If they were to join the fifth years, this coming year, then yes, I believe they are capable of passing their OWLs. Neither of them are likely to go further than NEWTs but they should receive quite acceptable passing grades.” Pomona Sprout passed a small slip of parchment across to the Headmaster.

“Excellent. Thank you, Pomona.” Dumbledore gave her a gentle smile. “Severus?”

“I have no concerns about their capabilities. They both show promise, although, I would suggest that both of them join the fifth years for more practical work.” Snape said in his typically formal manner.

“I will take that under advisement.” Dumbledore replied and made a note on a separate sheet of parchment. “Minerva?"

“I have to agree with Severus and Pomona.” McGonagall sighed. “I doubt they will struggle if we move them up to fifth year. I was hesitant but the more I hear, the more confident I am that they will pass comfortably.”

“I am beginning to think I may have to agree.” Dumbledore commented. “That covers the core subjects. What about electives? Septima?”

“Miss Lovegood is far ahead of Miss Grimmley in arithmancy.” Septima Vector replied. “But even Miss Grimmley has passed the fourth year, end of year assessment with ease. I agree with Minerva and Severus. Move them to fifth year.”

Dumbledore nodded and made another note on the second sheet of parchment. “Hagrid?”

“They’d pass they’s NEWTs, Professor Dumbledore, sir.” Hagrid answered. “Even if they sat ‘em now. Nay worries there. I think having a familiar ‘as prodded heir interest.”

“I see. Thank you, Hagrid.” Dumbledore made another note. “Minerva? You gave them the History of Magic fourth year assessment, how did they do on that?”

“Passed. Both of them did well.” Minerva shook her head. “How we ever missed that they’re so advanced, I just don’t know. Both passed with ‘O’s’. I’m tempted to give them the fifth-year assessments, just to see how they do.”

“It might be something to consider for them, over the holidays.” Severus added.

“Let us finalise this, before we go getting too far ahead of ourselves.” Dumbledore warned. “Bathsheda, how are they in Runes?”

“Miss Lovegood could easily pass her NEWTs, this year. Miss Grimmley is at much the same level as Miss Granger, still well ahead of the other fourth-year students.” Bathsheda Babbling replied.

“I see.” Dumbledore consulted his notes. “So it seems that both Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood are well placed, academically, to join the incoming fifth-years for the coming year? Any dissenters? No?” Dumbledore nodded and smiled. “Very well. I shall request a meeting with Miss Grimmley’s father, I understand that he is Crisis Guardian to Miss Lovegood, as well.”

“I shall be meeting with him, this afternoon. I can forward a request, if you wish.” Snape offered.

“Meeting with him? Why ever for?” Minerva frowned. “The girls are in my house, surely I should be meeting with him?” 

“It’s nothing to do with the girls, Minerva. Mr Grimmley has an extremely well producing herbology garden and has started to prepare the harvest as potions ingredients. We discussed the matter in depth over the winter break and if Mr Grimmley’s produce continues to be the quality it has been thus far, over the course of the coming year, then I will be recommending that we offer him a long-term contract to supply the potions’ department with his produce. It is far superior to that of either Ladle and Vine or Dogweed and Deathcap. Unfortunately, he currently has a limited range of produce, but he does plan on increasing that over the next few years.”

“Really? I definitely must meet with him, then.” Dumbledore twinkled at the potions Master. “But why would you be meeting with him, this afternoon?”

“I get my personal supplies from him and this afternoon will be the third such delivery of goods.” Snape replied.

“Ah. Excellent.” Dumbledore nodded his understanding. “If you would ask him to meet with me in regard to the young ladies and their request to sit their OWLs? I would appreciate your mediation.” He hummed. “And yours, of course, Minerva. The girls are in your house.”

In the room that she shared with Titania, Luna sat up sharply, her eyes wide.

“Luna?”

“She’s coming” Luna’s voice was quiet, a bare whisper of sound. “At midnight, tonight, she will arrive at the shack. We have to be ready. We will need to bring her into the castle, she will need the same potions as Paddy. She will be his sister. She… she has lost everything. Only you and Paddy remain of those she loved. She will need our love.” Luna flopped back onto her bed as though she were a puppet and someone had cut her strings.

“Who is she…?” Titania whispered.

“The dragonrider of Gryffindor.”


	21. Chapter 21

_In the room that she shared with Titania, Luna sat up sharply, her eyes wide._

_“Luna?”_

_“She’s coming” Luna’s voice was quiet, a bare whisper of sound. “At midnight, tonight, she will arrive at the shack. We have to be ready. We will need to bring her into the castle, she will need the same potions as Paddy. She will be his sister. She… she has lost everything. Only you and Paddy remain of those she loved. She will need our love.” Luna flopped back onto her bed as though she were a puppet and someone had cut her strings._

_“Who is she…?” Titania whispered._

_“The dragonrider of Gryffindor.”_

Titania and Luna sat just inside the entrance to the shrieking shack waiting for ‘the dragonrider of Gryffindor’ as Luna called the unnamed female.

A subtle shift in the air currents was the only warning the two animagi had before she appeared. Ragged hair and torn clothes told them that she’d come from a harsh place. But it wasn’t until she turned and the moonlight washed over her face, that Titania realised who it was.

“Hermione…” She whispered as she stepped from the shadows, her hands resting on her head, fingers linked together.

The older woman spun to face the voice, a wand in her hand but a gun also at the ready, the sight of a young blonde girl, made her hesitate.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Titania Grimmley.” Came the answer, easily given. “The Seer called you ‘the dragonrider of Gryffindor’. What dragon did you ride?”

“A Ukrainian Ironbelly. Two of my friends and I freed a captive Ironbelly and rode it out of the cave system where it had been imprisoned.” The woman replied.

“What does the 2nd of May mean?” Titania asked but she was almost certain that this was **_her_** Hermione.

“Freedom.”

“Oh, thank god.” Titania whispered and let her shoulders slump, her hands falling to her sides. “I went into the veil at ten minutes after three on the 3rd of May 1998. The last thing you said to me was ‘be happy, remember us but be happy’. And I am.”

 ** _“Harry?!”_** Hermione squawked.

“Hi, Mione.” Titania waved cheekily.

“What the hell happened to you? Did someone do this to you? Or is this… just how you are, here?” Hermione demanded.

“A little of one, a bit of another, some of the other.”

“Will you explain? Please?” Hermione’s voice was sharp but not hard or cold.

“I woke in the hospital wing, the night we rescued Snuffles and I decided that I wasn’t going to do it again. Between him, the crazy elf that dropped us at shell cottage, me and the Room where the D.A. trained, I got out. Out from under the control of the wizard that left me the snitch.” Titania was answering but to understand who she was talking about, you had to know of the events and who was involved in them. “We spent hours in the Room, hashing things out. I destroyed the items that were the reason for the camping trip and Snuffles and I had the Room provide the potions to change us. I am now Titania Dorea Grimmley and Snuffles is my father, Nigel Patrick Grimmley, commonly called Paddy. We used a variant of your third-year transport, to get ourselves set up and well, here we are. Three turns, he said.” Titania's fingers moved as though turning the hour-glass of a time-turner, she knew that Hermione needed a brief outline before she would begin to ask questions.

Luna stepped from the shadows and stopped beside Titania. “We can help you. Hermione Granger is still up in the Gryffindor tower. You aren’t replacing her, so you’ll need a new identity.” She held up a familiar map.

Hermione looked at them, before focusing on Titania. “You’re… you used to be Har- **_Him_**?”

“I did.”

“You took his place here?”

“I did.”

“But you’re still here?”

“And he’s not.” Titania nodded.

“How can you help me? If there’s still a Hermione in the castle, how can you help me?”

“We spoke to Da and he’d like to have a sister. The Room can do all the potions and provide all the documents you need.” Titania answered.

“Does anyone know? Other than Luna?” Hermione asked.

“Sort of…” Titania grimaced. “Snape, Flitwick and Uncle Moony all know that Da was Snuffles. We had planned to tell Gred, Feorge and their chocolate sidekick about Da, this summer. But no-one knows about the veil and Harry. We wanted to be out of school before we spilt that cauldron.”

“Snape knows and he hasn’t told... Professor Dum- the Head of the Order?” Hermione’s eyes widened, before she cut herself off in the milddle of the Headmaster's name and changed to a descriptive.

“Yeah, he’s not too happy with the old man.” Titania smirked.

“Snape, Professor Moony and Professor Flitwick wanted to hire us, the Princesses of Pranks, to prank him. So, Titania decided that they should know where her pranking skills come from, or at least some of them.”

“Oh, hell.” Hermione sighed. “Snuffles as you father… crap. What year are you in?”

“Third, but we’re going to skip fourth and go straight to fifth.” Titania grinned.

“Have you started a prank war with the twins, yet?”

“Nope. We work with them far more than against them.” Luna shrugged.

“Is the castle still standing?” Hermione asked, more than half serious.

Titania and Luna just laughed.

“Come on. Let’s go make you Da’s little sister. I need an Aunt.” Titania grinned.

“Uncle Paddy will meet us back here, in a couple of hours, so we’ve only got limited timeframe.” Luna added. “The Express goes back to London in three days, it’s the end of the year. You and Uncle Paddy can meet us on the platform.”

“We’ll have the whole summer to catch up.” Titania assured her. “But Da will bring you up to speed on what we’ve done, before you have to deal with the twins and all of us.” She lead the way towards the tunnel that would lead to Hogsmeade. “If we use the passage from the ruins of the Cock and Bull, it will let us out behind Gregory the Smarmy’s statue on the fifth floor. From there you’ll have to use a disillusionment charm, while Luna and I use my cloak. Professor Snape is meeting us on the fifth floor, we asked him to let us come here but we let him think it was to get something from Da, to continue the pranks against the Headmaster.”

“Oh, good lord…” Hermione moaned. “Snape’s helping you prank the Headmaster…”

Three hours later, the two young witches watched as Paddy and the newly named Philomena Myah Grimmley, commonly called Myah, apparated away from the ruins of the Cock and Bull.

“Well, I suppose it’s back to bed for us.” Titania said tiredly. “The nanny-nap I had this afternoon has well and truly worn off.”

“I do hope not, Miss Grimmley.” Snape’s voice issued from the shadows. “I believe I have been lied to.” Both Titania and Luna spun to face the black on black shadow that was Severus Snape. “I think an explanation is owed. Don’t you?”

Titania looked to Luna and waited while the other blonde contemplated whatever was running through her head. Eventually, the young Seer nodded.

“Tell him.” Luna said.

“From when?”

“The beginning.”

“The beginning?” Titania gasped. “All of it?”

“All of it.”

“Okay… If you’re sure?”

“I am.” Luna nodded. “He’s been quite helpful and if he knows everything, he’ll be even more likely to help.”

“If you say so.” Titania sighed. “Alright Professor, I don’t suppose we could go somewhere a little less… exposed? This is going to take a while.”

“How long?” Snape looked from one girl to the other. What was he missing?

“A couple of hours.” Titania sighed. “At least.”

“Hmm…” Snape studied the girls, before reaching into his pocket and retrieving a small phial. “Half each. Go back to your dorms and get dressed for the day. Have breakfast and meet me outside that… interesting… room.”

“But classes?” Titania jerked her hands, in a ‘what?’ motion, as she asked.

“You pair are excused from classes for the remainder of this year and I have no classes until mid-afternoon. The pleasure of having exams monitored by the WEA.” Snape answered.

“Oh, yeah, forgot that.” Titania grimaced. “Alright. Outside the Room in two hours?”

“Yes, that be suitable.”

Snape studied the two girls before letting his head fall into his hands. “Why must Blacks and Potters always be the bane of my existence?” He muttered, the story he’d just been told was enough to give him nightmares.

“I have no idea, Professor.” Titania replied, with a cheeky grin on her face. “But if it’s any consolation, I wasn’t very nice to Da when he told me how he and James had treated you. The thought that someone else would treat me like he treated you hit him like a bludger. He didn’t like it, not at all. And? I’m not a Potter, anymore. Da’s not really a Black, either.”

“No… I suppose not…” Snape sighed. “Who else knows?”

“Me, Da, Luna and you.” Titania replied. “Uncle Moony and Professor Flitwick know what you knew, until now, anyway. The twins and Lee know that we’re the Princesses of Pranks, but nothing more. The Headmaster knows I am a Princess of Pranks and suspects that Luna is my co-Princess but has no proof.” She shrugged. “Outside that? No-one.”

“And where did the… local, you called them… Potter and Black go?”

“We’re not certain, Professor.” Luna answered. “We think they went into the veil, but we have no way of knowing for certain.”

“If they did, there’s a strong probability that they’re dead.” Titania added. “The veil works on judgment of the soul going into it. In more ways than one.”

“I don’t follow.” Snape frowned.

“If the local Black believed that the veil would kill him, he would die.” Titania explained. “Then the veil would judge the darkness… the evilness for lack of a better word… held within his soul. Then it would decide where to send that soul. But if he believed that the veil wouldn’t kill him but would send him somewhere else? Then the veil would judge his soul and send him there. Heaven? Purgatory? Hell? Wherever he would get what he deserved.”

“Which is how you came to be here?”

“Not really.” Titania shrugged. “I just wanted to go wherever Da was. In his case? I don’t think he had a chance to think about the veil and what it was, before he was knocked into it.”

“Yes, given what you’ve told me, I think that may be accurate.” Snape allowed his head to nod fractionally. “And the woman? Who was she?”

“That reality’s version of Hermione Granger.” Luna answered.

“Really?” Snape blinked. “She seems a shadow of what I would have expected the Gryffindor Golden girl to be as an adult.”

“Yeah. It was… bad…” Titania sighed. “We only got a brief outline of what happened to her since, but it was bad…”

“How bad?”

Titania closed her eyes as she repeated what Hermione had told her and Luna. “The Lestranges lead the last of the DeathEaters. They targeted everyone that wasn’t one of theirs. But they strung it out. They had the Ministry and they used it. In the twenty-two years since? No muggleborn survived to receive a Hogwarts letter. Known muggleborns were hunted down and depending on their age and position, were either forcibly bonded to a DeathEater, had their magic bound and used as slaves or just killed. Halfbloods were kept as servants, again depending on their parents’ blood, as to what level of freedom they had. Pureblood families were taken and divided up. Babies and young children were removed from ‘blood traitors’ and given to DeathEater families. The girls were given as wives or concubines to the lower DeathEater ranks. Anyone not a DeathEater wore a suppression cuff that limited what magic they could do. Resistance was… it was there, but they mostly used muggle means of transport and weapons. Draco, Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy ran a… let’s call it an underground railway… smuggling halfbloods and babies out of the wizarding world to those waiting in Europe and America. Hermione was the last muggleborn in Britain.”

“Oh dear God.” Snape whispered.

“Yeah.” Titania sighed. “And then it got worse. Their potions masters went to work. A virus was created. Muggles were dying, worldwide, the virus only targeted muggles. The muggles called it a pandemic, thousands were dying every day and it was just getting worse. Then the potions Masters lost control of it, over the summer of 2020. The virus began to mutate. No-one was safe. It began to feed on magic. Magicals began to get sick, so did magical creatures. If you had a core, it went after you.”

“How did Miss Granger escape?”

“She didn’t.” Titania said. “Not really. The virus stripped the magic from her. Not having magic made it harder for the DeathEaters to hunt her, all their spells needed a magical signature to track someone and she didn’t have that anymore.”

“She’s a squib, now?” Snape asked.

“She was.” Titania nodded. “But coming through the veil healed her, gave her back her magic. She has to get used to having access to magic, all over again. She was the first muggleborn to have suppression cuffs placed on her back after the war, and even after she escaped from the Lestrange brothers, she couldn’t remove the cuffs. It wasn’t until she caught the virus that the cuffs were removed. The DeathEaters laughed when they found her as a squib.”

“Yes, I can imagine, they would have.” Snape whispered.

“They threw her into the veil. Told her that she was nothing now.” Luna said.

“She was quite surprised to fall out of the veil here, with her wand in her hand, they’d snapped that years ago.” Titania went on. “She didn’t know where else to go, so she was coming to the shack, it was the resistance’s meeting point. No-one would expect the resistance to meet so close to the DeathEater controlled Hogwarts.”

“They controlled Hogwarts?” Snape moaned.

“They controlled everything.” Luna said.

“What will happen to her now?”

“Da’s got her.” Titania said. “We did some more conversion potions, she’s now his younger sister. He’s going set her up in a cabin on our property and see if he can get her in to see the mind-healer that we saw. Let her see that she’s safe and protected before helping her to work out what she wants to do in the future.”

“Who will she be? Her name and position, I mean?”

“She now his sister.” Titania answered. “Her name is Philomena Myahlissa Grimmley, family call her Myah. Like Da, she was home schooled. Over a year ago she was attacked by muggles and her wand broken, she was held captive by them until just recently. They tortured and abused her. The Room put the relevant documents in the relevant places, both in the magical and muggle worlds with backdated missing person reports lodged. She’s got an appointment with St. Mungo's for later today to see what help she needs. Da wants her to see the same mind-healer that he and I saw, but he also wants her to see a muggle rape-counsellor.”

“Do you think she will recover?”

“Mion- Myah is strong, she won’t let the Lestranges stop her from reclaiming her life. She’ll recover.” Titania smiled sadly. “It will take a while, but she’ll recover. We sent a platinum and diamond time-turner with Da, if she needs extra time.”

“And how will having her here, affect you?” Snape asked.

“It probably won’t.” Titania said. “She’s in a bad place, mentally. For a while, at least, I’ll keep my distance, she’s not too accepting of what I did to become Titania. She believes that I should have found another way.”

“And what do you think?”

“I’m happy, right now. I **_like_** being Titania. I **_like_** not being 'the Boy-Who-Lived'. I **_like_** not being under Dumbledore’s thumb. I **_like_** having Da as my father. I **_like_** having Luna stay with us. I **_like_** having the twins live with us. I **_don’t_** want to go back to being Harry. And just now, Hermio- Myah can’t get passed the fact that I’m not Harry, anymore and I _**don’t**_ _**want**_ to be Harry, anymore.”

“Miss Granger is quite… resolved… in her opinions.” Snape nodded.

“You have no idea, Professor.” Titania laughed.

Getting off the train, the two girls and the twins, looked around for Paddy, expecting to see Myah at his side. They found the two adults, tucked into a corner with Myah looking a little overwhelmed by the mass of people filling the platform.

“Da!” Titania hugged her father tightly before turning to Myah. “Hello, Aunt Myah.”

“Hello, Titania…” Myah gave her a small smile. “It’s good to see you.”

“And you, too.” Titania tilted her head as she studied Myah. “You look good.”

“I've had a couple of months to recover.” Myah said, which clued the two girls into the fact that Myah had used the time-turner to assist in her recovery.

“Guys? This is Myah, my younger sister. She’s recovering from a bad experience, so I would appreciate you not pranking her too much.” Paddy said as he hugged each of the children.

“We’ll be good, Uncle Paddy.” Fred gave Paddy and Myah a smile. “Prank wars are announced at breakfast and last only until dinner time. If you want to escape, Uncle Paddy's office is neutral ground and a prank-free territory, as are the potions lab and the greenhouses.”

“Excellent, Fred, thanks.” Paddy grinned at the redhead.

“I think I can deal with that.” Myah gave him a tentative smile.

“If you can’t, just let us know, but no wars will go passed dinner, so you don’t have to worry about being pranked in your sleep.” George assured the witch.


	22. Chapter 22

_“We’ll be good, Uncle Paddy.” Fred gave Paddy and Myah a smile. “Prank wars are announced at breakfast and last only until dinner time. If you want to escape, Uncle Paddy's office is neutral ground and a prank-free territory, as are the potions lab and the greenhouses.”_

_“Excellent, Fred, thanks.” Paddy grinned at the redhead._

_“I think I can deal with that.” Myah gave him a tentative smile._

_“If you can’t, just let us know, but no wars will go passed dinner, so you don’t have to worry about being pranked in your sleep.” George assured the witch._

Three days after returning from Hogwarts for the summer, five teens sat at the breakfast table and faced the two adult members of the Grimmley family.

“We will be engaging in a prank war, today. Battle will be joined in one hour.” Lee said, in a formal manner.

“Oh, gods.” The two adults exchanged looks but only Paddy spoke. “Can I recruit from outside?”

“Battle will be joined in one hour.” Lee repeated. “Whoever is here is far game.” He paused. “Unless, of course, they’re in the office, the lab or the greenhouse.”

“Excellent.” Paddy grinned. “Myah? You in or out?”

“I… I think that I’d best sit this one out, gentlemen. I haven’t been in a prank war for… years.” Myah hesitated.

“Sure.” George gave a shrug. “If you want to spectate, the office is the best. There’s a series of screens that pull down from the top of the bookcases, they’re linked to viewing windows in each room and strategically placed points around the outside of the house.”

“Oh, that might be… I think I’d like that.” Myah said with a small smile.

Over the next eight hours, Myah got a (not so) short lesson in the dynamics of the extended Grimmley family. She also learned that Titania was Titania, not Harry playing at being a girl. Titania wasn’t Harry, there were similarities between them, but there were also significant differences, too.

Harry was a parseltongue. Titania wasn’t.

Harry was a seeker. Titania was a chaser.

Harry liked treacle tarts. Titania preferred chocolate cheesecake.

Harry’s best subject at Hogwarts was DADA. Titania’s was charms.

Harry’s favourite subject was CoMC. Titania’s was runes.

Harry was a mediocre student. Titania was advanced enough to sit her OWLs a year early.

Harry never expressed interest in becoming an Animagus. Titania had been able to successfully transform for almost a year.

Harry couldn’t stand Snape. Titania and Snape got along surprisingly well.

After dinner that evening, and Lee and Snape being declared the winners of the prank war, Titania, Paddy and Myah left Lupin and Snape to supervise Luna and the boys. The three retreated to the office and Paddy watched as Myah threw up some extremely complicated privacy wards.

“You wanted to talk?” He asked.

“I did.” Myah answered. “Firstly, thank you.”

“For what?” Paddy arched an eyebrow in question.

“For today.” Myah replied. “It let me… let go… I suppose. Let go of Harry. Let go of Hermione. It made me realise that you two truly aren’t Sirius and Harry, just playing at new lives, you really are Paddy and Titania.” 

“We are.” Titania said.

“Yes, I can see that, now.” Myah sighed. “I didn’t until today. So…? Thank you.”

Paddy and Titania exchanged speaking looks.

“You’re welcome?” Paddy was the one to reply but it still came out as a question.

“I’ve been thinking about what Paddy told me about what the public know about Sirius Black. And about what the Ministry know about him and Harry.”

Titania looked at her Aunt and tilted her head. “Yeah…?” She asked slowly.

“He also said that he wants to tell Remus, Snape, Lee and the twins, who you are and how you came to be here.” Myah said.

“Yeah…” Titania nodded.

“I think…” Myah paused.

“Yeah…?” Paddy prodded his new sister.

“I think that we need to make it a little more open.” She spoke quickly. “Make it an open secret.”

“In what way?” Paddy frowned, he wasn’t going to risk his daughter being taken from him.

“Bring in a couple of others, but give them a distorted version, all true but only part of the truth.” Myah replied.

“What would you tell and to whom?” Titania asked.

“Tell Dumbledore, McGonagall, Bones, Moody and maybe the Weasleys. Tell them that Paddy used to be Sirius Black. Say that Harry saw to all the documents and potions needed to convert Sirius into Paddy and gave him a time turner and told him what to do with it.” 

“And how do we explain you?” Paddy asked.

“That Sirius had found me between leaving Azkaban and reaching Hogwarts.” Myah began. “That I’d lost everything to the war and couldn’t let go of the past. Harry offered me the same potions and conversions as Sirius and I went into the past with Sirius. I left not long after and found a place of my own to live in, I saw a mind-healer and began to recover, finally putting the past where is belonged, in the past. Recently, I fell afoul of a group of muggles and was assaulted, not raped, just beaten. I’m still recovering from that and probably will be for some time. Paddy insisted that I come to live with them, giving me a cottage of my own, on the property.”

Paddy didn’t answer, he just looked at Titania.

“That would work…” Titania mused, speaking slowly. “Leave out any reference to coming through the veil, though. We’d have to word it just right.”

“Best get Moony and Snape in for that.” Paddy sighed. “They always knew exactly what to say to avoid the worst detentions. I just can’t think the way they do.”

“Alright, how do we do that?” Myah asked. “What do we tell the boys and Luna?”

Titania snickered. “Telling them the truth, all bar me having been Harry, was something we planned to do, this summer. Tell them now and get them all to help with a plan and a cover-story.”

Paddy barked a laugh and Myah just blinked. “Oh, Merlin.” She whispered. “Snape and the twins working together…?”

“That’s enough to give many people nightmares.” Titania grinned.

“In that case, let’s go to talk to them.” Paddy stood beside the door and waited for the two witches to join him. Myah flicked her wand and let her wards fall before leaving the room.

An hour later, the expressions on the faces of Lee and the twins, had Titania and Luna giggling.

“Padfoot?” Fred whispered.

“You’re Padfoot?” George added.

“Of Moony, Whiptail, Padfoot and Spikes?” Lee demanded. “The Corsairs?”

“That’s what we were called.” Lupin nodded.

The three boys couldn’t speak, they didn’t know what to say. They were living with one of their heroes. Being taught by another. What did you say to that?

“Okay…” Lee finally forced out. “Why…? Why tell us?”

“We’d like some… assistance…” Myah said.

“Consider it a prank on the entire wizarding world.” Paddy added.

“But… We want to avoid the possibility of Paddy being arrested.” Myah said. “We know that Sirius has been cleared of any wrongdoing, but we don’t have much confidence in the Ministry. We were thinking about who to tell.”

“Dumbledore, McGonagall, Bones, Moody and the Weasleys.” Paddy said.

“No.” Fred shook his head.

“Not mum and dad.” George agreed.

“Let Dumbledore tell them.” Lee added.

“No, not Dumbledore, make it Bones.” Titania corrected. “Make it a DMLE notification, on the quiet, about the fostering.”

The three boys tilted their heads in the same direction and thought for a few moments.

“Yeah…” Lee nodded.

“That would…”

“…work better…” Fred started and George finished.

“I would suggest…” Snape started.

The next few hours were an interesting blend of argument, conference, briefing, debate and a lesson in how to Slytherin.

Paddy took a deep breath as the floo-fireplace flared green and Albus Dumbledore stepped from the flames, followed closely by Minerva McGonagall and then Filius Flitwick.

“Good morning, Professors.” He greeted them.

“Good morning, Mr Grimmley.” Dumbledore and McGonagall nodded to him.

“Good morning, Paddy.” Flitwick gave him a slightly confused smiled.

“We thank you for the invitation,” Dumbledore began. “Although, I am at a loss for the reason for such an invite being extended.”

“Please come through to the sunroom.” Paddy gestured to Filius. “You know where to go and you’re the closest, you lead the way, please, Filius.”

“Certainly, Paddy.” Filius headed out through a door and down a short hallway that opened out into a large kitchen with an attached sunroom.

“Have a seat.” Paddy gestured to the comfortable-looking armchairs. “Drinks? Tea, coffee, scotch, firewhiskey?”

“Firewhiskey?” Dumbledore’s brows rose.

“It’s a little early in the day for that, isn’t it?” Filius asked.

“It is.” Paddy nodded. “But what I have to tell you… You may want it.”

“Let us be the judge of that, Mr Grimmley.” McGonagall suggested. “If, as you say, we need it, we can ask for it.”

“Of course, Professor.” Paddy said. He then took a few deep breaths and started. “I was Sirius Black.” Remus Lupin and Severus Snape entered the room and sat, one on each side of Paddy, causing two of his guests to gasp and Filius to nod. “Less than an hour…” He proceeded to give the three a rough outline of the story that he and his family had decided upon, as his cover.

“You’re truly not Sirius Black, anymore, are you?” McGonagall asked, eyeing the man who sat beside Severus Snape, someone who loathed Black and was loathed in return.

“No, Professor, not anymore.”

“And that lovely young lass of yours? Who is her mother?”

“Lauren Grant. She was a good friend, she died in 1985. We light a candle for her, each Halloween.” Paddy said. “Titania knows who her mother was and we’ve a pensieve, so I’ve been able to make up a small cabinet of memories that she can watch.” It had taken some fiddling, since deciding a cover story, but they’d managed to take a trip to Hogwarts and get the Room to alter Paddy and Titania’s documents to show that Paddy was a sole-parent, that Lauren had only donated eggs for a surrogate to carry, not married Paddy at all.

“Ah, she was a lovely girl.” Dumbledore allowed.

“Much like her daughter.” Filius added.

“Did she not have family that would object to her… donation…?” McGonagall asked.

“No, Miss Grant was an orphan.” Dumbledore said. “She did have a brother but I seem to recall that she had to leave school early one winter, he’d been involved in some type of vehicle accident and wasn’t expected to live.”

“Nathan.” Paddy said. “I met him a few times, Lauren was pretty cut up about it.”

“I can imagine.” Filius grimaced.

“What do you plan to do now?” Dumbledore asked, his mind racing in different directions, trying to decide what would be best.

“I’m going to talk to Amelia Bones and Alastor Moody, then nothing.” Paddy replied. “Grow my herbs and other potions ingredients, manage the menagerie of children and critters. Severus wants me to sell ingredients, to him, to Hogwarts and maybe open a mail-order business. I’m not certain about that, I’ll start with him and maybe Hogwarts.”

“That might not be a good idea.” Dumbledore commented. “Talking to Amelia and Alastor, I mean.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Paddy rocked his head. “But it’s what’s going to happen.”

“I would prefer you not-”

“Professor, stop.” Paddy held up a hand. “What **_you_** want doesn’t come into this. I’m telling you, **_only_** as a courtesy, because Titania is a student at your school. It is **_my_** choice, who I speak to. I hesitated about telling you, at all, as you are renowned for your meddling but Remus and Severus felt that, as you are also the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, there was a strong chance that Amelia would want to tell you, anyway. Professor McGonagall is here because she is Titania’s head of house at Hogwarts.”

“And Filius?” McGonagall asked, looking at the charms Professor.

“He, along with Remus and Severus have known since yule.” Paddy answered. “He suggested then that telling you might be something to think about. It wasn’t going to happen right then, with Myah missing, I wasn’t about to walk into what could become a legal battle. Once she escaped where she was being held captive, I was more focused on helping her recover. Now that she has? It’s time to move forward.” Paddy was beginning to get agitated but until Snape laid a hand on his leg to calm him, he didn’t realise it.

“I see…” Dumbledore sighed, it seemed that Sirius Black had grown up and at an exceptionally inconvenient time. “Well, Mr Black, I cannot-”

“Grimmley.” Paddy cut him off. “I am Nigel Patrick Grimmley, not Sirius Black. Not anymore and never again. Legally and magically, I am Paddy Grimmley.”

“Ah…” Dumbledore nodded. That was not a bad thing. “Very well. Tell me, Mr Grimmley, do you know enough of the House of Black charter to speculate who will inherit the Head of House title?”

“It’s already been claimed.” Paddy smirked. “The Lady of House Black is Andromeda Tonks-Black.” He knew that Andi was no fan of Dumbledore.

“Ah…” Dumbledore sighed internally, there went any chance of accessing House Black’s Wizengamot seats.

“Exactly.” Paddy’s smirk became a grin. “And no, she hasn’t forgiven you for your comments about her husband.”

“I do think she could have done better.” Dumbledore chided.

“Not your decision, Dumbledore, and it never was.” Paddy reminded him.

“True, too true.” Dumbledore sighed. “And what of your family, here?”

“Well, Luna’s father pops in and out, a few times a year, so I get the chance to talk to him about her and her future. Lee’s mother is much the same, but she drops by more often. Arthur floo-calls, at least once a week.” Paddy answered.

“And do you have plans laid out?” McGonagall asked.

“We do.” Paddy nodded. “The girls are sitting their OWLs at the end of this coming year, with the boys sitting their NEWTs a week later. On Titania and Luna’s fifteenth birthdays, I’ve agreed to sign betrothal contracts for them, Luna’s father will have to counter sign hers later. That reminds me, I must remember to speak to Arthur. Luna’s going to work towards her arithmancy mastery. The boys have plans to open a shop, where they’ll sell pranks and the like. Titania has decided that she will do some advanced studies in both charms and runes, she wants to make quill grips that have internal ink reservoirs, where the buyers can change the feathers and the ink changes colour to a predetermined match.”

“Interesting…” Filius rocked his head.

“Betrothal contracts?” Dumbledore asked. “Don’t you feel that’s a little… old fashioned?”

“Personally? Yes.” Paddy answered. “But that’s what the girls want and who am I to deny them?”

“Ah. Might I ask… Whom have they chosen?” Dumbledore hesitated to ask. Did he really want to know?”

“Luna and Lee have already spoken to Xeno and Lee’s mother, the parchmentwork is done and just needs signing. Titania and Fred’s will need a meeting with Arthur and Head of House Weasley and probably with Muriel Prewett, too.”

“Oh, my…” McGonagall looked slightly alarmed at the thought of the daughter of the man who was once Sirius Black, marrying the more inventive of the Weasley twins.

Paddy just laughed.

“And where are the young ladies, in question?” Filius asked.

“Upstairs, the kidlets are having morning tea on Titania’s balcony with the flock.”

“The flock?” McGonagall asked.

“Titania has a habit of collecting odd beasties.” Lupin spoke for the first time.

“Odd…?” McGonagall asked.

“If I recall…?” Dumbledore tilted his head as he thought. “There was a hippogriff…” He paused as something occurred to him. “Would that be the one that young Harry and Hermione used in your rescue?”

“It would.” Paddy answered. “I tied a pigment change to his blood. Made him a little darker.”

“Excellent.” Dumbledore smiled. “If you have no objections, I shall tell Hagrid that the beast is being well cared for.” When Paddy nodded, he went on. “There was also a number of snidgets, an Augurey and a jaberknoll, wasn’t there?”

“Oh, yes.” Paddy nodded, again. “It likes to harmonise with the fwooper. Plus a pony-sized Pegasus and her second familiar, a griffin cub.”

“Oh, my stars.” McGonagall gasped.

“Then, she decided to add to the collection by bringing home children, first Luna then the boys.” Paddy shook his head.

“In his last letter to me, he whinged about his twelve-year-old daughter bringing home fifteen-year-old boys.” Lupin laughed.

“She was twelve, Moony. Twelve. Bringing home older boys. And boys reputed to be the current Hogwarts pranksters. Of course, I was whinging.” Paddy mock-snarled at his friend.

“Oh, please.” Snape shook his head. “Like the first thought in your head wasn’t something to do with pranks.” The look he sent the beleaguered father was full of fond exasperation.

“That’s not the point!” Paddy squawked, indignantly.

“Never mind, Pads.” Lupin snorted. “Shall we call the Hellions down for lunch, or do we have more to discuss?”

“Nope, that’s it.” Paddy shook his head. “Subject’s closed.”

“Good.” Snape nodded. “Bring out the firewhiskey, I believe a drink is needed.”

“Definitely.” McGonagall agreed.


	23. Chapter 23

_“In his last letter to me, he whinged about his twelve-year-old daughter bringing home fifteen-year-old boys.” Lupin laughed._

_“She was twelve, Moony. Twelve. Bringing home older boys. And boys reputed to be the current Hogwarts pranksters. Of course, I was whinging.” Paddy mock-snarled at his friend._

_“Oh, please.” Snape shook his head. “Like the first thought in your head wasn’t something to do with pranks.” The look he sent the beleaguered father was full of fond exasperation._

_“That’s not the point!” Paddy squawked, indignantly._

_“Never mind, Pads.” Lupin snorted. “Shall we call the Hellions down for lunch, or do we have more to discuss?”_

_“Nope, that’s it.” Paddy shook his head. “Subject’s closed.”_

_“Good.” Snape nodded. “Bring out the firewhiskey, I believe a drink is needed.”_

_“Definitely.” McGonagall agreed._

The start of year feast saw almost the same selection of students displaying the fact that they couldn’t keep their mouths shut, all but Pucey and Warrington. They’d learnt their lesson well. Others, it seemed, hadn’t.

“Oh, dear…” Flitwick sighed.

“Someone had fun.” Snape said. “Or should that be someone- **s**?”

“How did they achieve this?” Dumbledore asked. “Any ideas?”

“It has to be on the Express.” Flitwick said.

“No, not just the Express.” Lupin corrected. “They’ll have hit each of them with a targeting spell, but it wouldn’t activate until they entered the castle.”

“Really?” Dumbledore asked, intrigued by the hypothesis.

“Otherwise the ‘victims’ would see it early enough to be able to _finite_ the hex, before entering the Great Hall.” Snape explained.

“Ah, of course, of course.” Dumbledore nodded to himself.

Titania and Luna received off looks from some of the Ravenclaws as they joined the fifth-year runes class.

“Welcome to the Study of Ancient Runes OWLs class.” Professor Bubbling said, once the six students were seated. “And yes, Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood are supposed to be in this class. You will find them in most of the fifth-year classes, as they will be sitting their OWLs with you.” She tapped her wand against the chalkboard and went on. “First, I’d like all of you to confirm that you all have Spellman’s Syllabary and your Rune Dictionary. Please stand your books on your desk, facing the front of the room.”

With that, the students attention went from Titania and Luna to Professor Babbling and the subject she taught.

Standing in the clearing that Hagrid used for most of his classes, the twelve fifth-year students faced the half-giant as he sat on a stump.

“Come on, come on. Gather round.” The former groundskeeper called. “Right then. We’ve got a bit of a treat for ya. This be a one-off class. Normally, we don’t go much fer guest Professors, but this one? Nah, we weren’t gonna knock ‘im back when ‘e offered to share ‘is time. I’s expect you to pay attention and show some respect.” He gestured to someone that the students couldn’t see. “Master of Magizoology and Grandmaster of Care of Magical Creatures, Newt Scamander. Master Scamander this is me fifth-year class. They’s’ll be sitting their OWLs at the end of the school year.”

There was a quiet gasp from Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, as a slender man entered the clearing.

“Good morning.” The older man shed the traditional pea-coat that had become something of a trademark of his and laid it over an overhanging branch. The students answered him with a variety of greetings. “Ah, Miss Grimmley, Headmaster Dumbledore told me I could expect to see, today. How’s that young Helios, of yours?”

“He’s growing well, sir, not out of the gangly stage but at least he’s learnt to fly. Now if we could just teach him to land…?” The blonde girl giggled as she replied.

“He’ll get the hang of it, eventually.” Scamander laughed back. “Griffins tend to muff thing up, until they’re about five years old. I’m not too sure about your fellow, being a familiar can bring a magical beast’s maturity forward.”

“He’s only got Da during the school year, though.” Titania said.

“In that case, work on the basis of him not reaching full maturity until he’s five. I’m going to be in the country for a week… if you like, I can check on him and give you a more accurate estimate.” Scamander offered.

“That would be wonderful, sir. I know Da is worried that Helios will strain something trying to fly with Steelbeak and Persephone.” Titania gave him a beaming smile.

“Which one’s Persephone?” Scamander asked.

“The pony Pegasus.” Titania answered.

“A Pegasus pony?” Draco Malfoy asked, his disdain for the non-Slytherin houses forgotten in his curiosity. “Where did you get one of them? They’re **_incredibly_** rare.”

“I found it on our property.” Titania replied. “It’d been hurt, something bigger had gouged marks down it’s flanks. Professor Hagrid was called out, as an animal healer, by Mr Diggory from Registration and Control.”

“That I was.” Hagrid said. “Weren’t expecting you to have a room full o’ impossibilities, though.”

“Hey!” She laughed. “You might consider them impossibilities, but they’re **_my_** impossibilities.”

“What else have you got?” Seamus Finnigan asked.

“Um…?” Titania looked to Hagrid and Scamander for permission, when they both nodded, she answered. “Steelbeak is a hippogriff, he was my Da’s, but he likes me better. Then there’s…”

Dumbledore looked at his staff and sighed. “Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood had sent another request.” He said.

“They wish to sit their NEWTs, don’t they?” Flitwick asked in response.

“They do.” Dumbledore nodded.

“Thank heavens…” Professor Vector sighed.

“Septima?” McGonagall turned to the Arithmancy Professor.

“By the end of September both girls had caught up to their classmates and by Halloween both had finished the entirety of the fifth-year work. I’ve started them on the sixth-year course, just to keep them occupied.” Vector replied.

“Much the same here, too.” Professor Babbling added. “Miss Grimmley took one class and said, ‘I can do this’ and proceeded to race through three months work in less than an hour. And within a week, the two had finished the whole year’s work.” She sighed. “They’re already well into sixth-year and if they weren’t as young as they are, I’d be inclined to say, let them sit their NEWTs, this year, too.”

“They might be ready for NEWTs in some classes,” Snape said, “but they still need practical experience in others, potions is one.”

“In charms, they could easily do the written test for their NEWTs, but again, the practical would hold them back a little.” Flitwick joined in. “They’d pass but not with as high of a score as they could, given another year to practice.”

“Minerva?” Dumbledore asked.

“Their essays are handed in the day after I give them out and are practically perfect. If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve been giving them a different subject matter each time, I’d be concerned about copied work.” McGonagall answered. “But, yes. Their practical could improve.” She paused for a moment. “However, I did receive notice from the DMLE.”

“The DMLE? Whyever for?” Professor Sprout asked.

“The two girls have taken a trip to the Ministry. Last weekend was a Hogsmeade weekend and the girls went to the Ministry to register as Animagi.”

Most of the staff looked at McGonagall like she was speaking gobbledegook.

“Excuse me?” Madam Pince asked for them all. “Animagi? How did they do that? Neither of them have researched the subject, not here at school, anyway. Nor has anyone else requested information on the matter since Miss Granger was hunting for a way to track Mr Pettigrew.”

“I don’t know, Irma, I just don’t know.” McGonagall sighed. “But given that Mr Jordan and Mr’s Fred and George Weasley registered as well? I can only assume that the boys already had plenty of study material.”

“Yes and no.” Lupin said.

“Pardon?” Dumbledore turned from McGonagall to Lupin.

“Yes, the boys had a couple of books, but it was the girls that were the catalyst.” Lupin explained. “You recall that the boys and a few others were changed into animals, a couple of years back?”

“Yes…?” Dumbledore replied slowly.

“That was the girls.” Lupin said. “They dosed the boys and a few others… and themselves… with the Animagus Identification potion, which is what got the boys thinking about animagi. Their books and information didn’t come from Hogwarts, they owled their brother, Bill. I understand that he’s an apprentice curse-breaker with Gringotts.”

“Oh, hell.” McGonagall muttered.

“Then the boys approached the girls and asked if either of their fathers were animagi and if so, would they be prepared to give lessons?” Lupin smiled. “That the summer after Harry… died. The boys spent most of the summer at the Grimmley’s place and Paddy taught all of them how to shift.”

“He’s an Animagus?” McGonagall asked.

“Oh, yes.” Snape answered. “He’s a silver and grey Grimm. Startled the doxie dung out of Lupin, the first time he shifted.”

“You weren’t much better.” Lupin snarked back at him.

“Maybe I wasn’t, but I’m a Slytherin, we can control our reactions, certainly better than most Gryffindors, anyway.” Snape smirked.

“What are they?” Hagrid asked. “The children? What did they register as?”

“Oh, yes.” McGonagall forced her focus back to the subject at hand. “Mr Jordan is a type of domestic feline, an exotic breed called the Havanna Cat.” She flicked her wand and conjured an image of a long-legged chocolate coloured cat with large ears and a triangular wedge-shaped head. “Mr’s Weasley are both Red Magma Kites and given the birds’ preference for living around active volcanos, it seems apt that our resident prankster have that form. Miss Lovegood is a Honey Dove, again, apt given her liking for sweets. And Miss Grimmley is the standout.”

“Oh…?” Dumbledore asked.

“She’s a Gryfflix.” McGonagall replied bluntly.

“Oh, my…” The gasps came from a few people.

“To get back to the initial subject. I’d say that yes, both girls will be fine to sit their NEWTs next year.” Snape cut in before anyone could comment.

“Yes, it would appear so.” Dumbledore nodded his head slowly. “Does anyone disagree?”

The twins and Lee dragged themselves from the Great Hall and up a few flights of stairs, until they reached the room that Titania and Luna had commandeered as their study room. They stumbled through the door and fell into the armchairs. that Titania had asked the house-elves to provide from the lost property room. Their arms hung down and their fingers barely held onto their wands, they were that tired.

“Finished…” Fred whispered, he had no strength to speak louder.

“Excellent, guys.” Titania beamed at them. “Here you go, I asked Madam Pomfrey if you could have these, as you would be tutoring us for our last exam. We brewed them last week and Snape okayed them.” She held out phials full of bright golden yellow liquid. “Invigorating Draughts. Drink up.”

“Best sister-in-law-to-be, ever.” George gave her a tired smile but reached out a trembling hand for a phial, Fred and Lee copying his action.

“What’s your exam?” Lee asked as he lifted the phial to his lips.

“History of Magic.” Luna answered.

“Ugh…” George grunted. “I take it back, worst sister-in-law-to-be, ever.”

“Alright guys, tomorrow is Titania’s fifteenth birthday.” Paddy said as he sat at the breakfast table with the five teens, Snape and Lupin. “I know I said that I’d sign a betrothal contract on her birthday, but there’s something you need to know first.”

“Oh, gods…” Fred groaned.

“What now…?” George closed his eyed.

“It’s not that bad.” Paddy objected.

“Yes, it is.” Snape argued.

“Cast away.” Lee took a deep breath in preparation.

“I told you that I was once Sirius Black, what I didn’t tell you or Remus, was that I wasn’t the Sirius Black that was born on this world.” He paused to slap Remus on the back as he nearly choked on his tea. “Sorry, thought you’d already swallowed that.” He gave a shamefaced grimace.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Grimmley get on with it.” Snape shook his head.

Paddy nodded. “Right. So, you know the story of Sirius Black. In the world I came from it was much the same. It was only after Harry and Hermione rescued me that things changed…” He told them all, the history of how he came to be in the Ministry that fateful night. “Bellatrix’s spell hit me and I hit the veil, it pulled me in and spat me out, what seemed like seconds later. I was sitting in that little cell on the top of the Dark Tower with Hermione blasting the door open. I had a few minutes with Harry and it was time to get out of there, I had plans to make and what I thought was… I had a chance to change the future.”

The boys and Remus nodded as they thought about that.

“Then things changed, again.” Paddy grinned. “About an hour later, I was only a few miles away, Buckbeak was tired and wanted to roost for the night so we’d landed near a tiny little loch, partway between the castle and Loch Awe. I’d made a nest out of some gorse and a few broken branches and the hippogriff had settled down, when a Patronus appeared. It was Harry’s, his stag. He must have assumed that we were still flying as he told me, and I quote, ‘Land the hippogriff, we have a problem.”

From there Paddy told his enraptured audience how he and Harry had talked and planned. What they’d decided on and how they enacted those plans. How Dobby the elf had validated all their plans with a simple question about a picture. How they’d taken that validation as the comfort that they sorely needed, that they would succeed. How Paddy had stressed and feared for his daughter when she’d began to collect animals and then went on to collect children.

Then Titania and Myah went on to explain what had happened to Harry in the two years after Sirius had entered the veil. From Dumbledore’s death and the Great Horcrux Hunt to the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry’s trial under Mordred’s Law. How he was given the chance to choose his sentence and what he chose.

“So…?” Fred studied Titania as though she were a puzzle that he needed to solve. “You were Harry, you were entered in the Triwizard and watched snakeface get a body.” It wasn’t a question and neither were any of the comments to come.

“Yes.” Titania and Paddy both answered.

“Paddy was Sirius Black and a member of the Order of the Phoenix.” George said.

“Yes.” Titania was only one to answer, now.

“You ran an illegal, underground DADA bootcamp and got a Professor kidnapped by centaurs.” Snape said.

“Yes.”

“Snakeface, great nickname by the way… Snakeface tricked you with a vision, via a horcrux that you didn’t know was in your scar, a vision of Sirius being tortured in the Ministry.” Lee said.

“Yes.”

“You rode thestrals from Hogwarts to London and fought a dozen or so DeathEaters.” Remus said with his eyes closed.

“Yes.”

“But you’d already told Snape, who had alerted the Order and they turned up to save your skinny butts.” Fred said.

“Yes.”

“And that’s when Sirius was hit by Bellatrix’s spell and fell into the veil.” Lee said.

“Yes.”

“And you duelled snakeface in the atrium, until Dumbledore turned up, then he duelled snakeface until the Minister arrived.” Remus said.

“Yes.”

“Less than an hour later, Dumbledore told you about the prophecy.” Remus said, his voice blank. “Without your wounds being treated.”

“Yes.”

“You were still sent back to the muggles.” Snape's voice was just as blank as Lupin's.

“Yes.”

“During the school year Dumbledore took you from the school to locate horcruxes.” Lee shuddered.

“Yes.”

“You watched as Snape killed Dumbledore.” Remus said his voice almost silent.

“Yes.”

“You… and Ron and Hermione… gave up your families, educations and probably any chance at a career, to go hunting horcruxes.” Fred said.

“Yes.”

“When you didn’t even know what the horcruxes were.” George said.

“Yes.”

“You broke into the Ministry and out of Malfoy manor.” Lee said.

“Yes.”

“Before breaking into Gringotts and out again, stealing a dragon along the way.” Fred said.

“Yes.”

“You broke into Hogwarts and challenged Snape for control of the school and won.” Lee said.

“Yes.”

“You watched as snakeface turned on Snape and had him killed.” George said.

“Yes.”

“You were with him when he died.” Paddy whispered, his hands reaching, one for Titania’s and the other for Snape’s.

“Yes.”

“I gave you memories.” Snape whispered clutching at Paddy’s hand.

“Yes.”

“Memories that showed you what Dumbledore had planned for you.” Remus said.

“Yes.”

“He planned for you to sacrifice yourself for your friends.” Snape growled.

“Yes.”

“And he’d been planning that for years.” Fred’s growl echoed Snape’s.

“Yes.”

“Do we get to kill him?” Fred asked. It was the first thing phrased as a question since Titania had finished her explanation.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because this Dumbledore isn’t the same. **_This_** Dumbledore is similar but he’s not done most of the things that, that Dumbledore had done. He **_can’t_** do anything to Harry. And I’m not Harry, not anymore. Harry’s dead.” Titania explained. “Plus, Harry’s already taken care of snakeface and his DeathEaters are still locked up, they aren’t going to cause the same sort of problems for the muggleborns.”

“Dumbledore has approved us sitting our NEWTs.” Luna added. “So, by this time next year, we’ll be completely free of him.”

“He won’t be able to do anything to us.” Titania assured them.

“As long as no-one here, let’s anything slip, we’ll be fine.” Luna added.

Fred’s eyes went wide as something occurred to him.

“Holy crap…” He whispered.

“What, Freddie?” George asked.

“Titania used to be Harry Potter.”

“Yes…” George frowned at his twin.

“ ** _I’m_** supposed to marry the girl who used to be **_Harry Potter_** …?” Fred whispered.

“And that’ why we told you today.” Paddy said. “Just in case you want to change your mind.”

 ** _“NO!”_** Fred squawked. “ ** _Mine!_** No take-backs.”

“Looks like you’re marrying the girl who used to be Harry Potter.” George snickered.


	24. Chapter 24

_Fred’s eyes went wide as something occurred to him._

_“Holy crap…” He whispered._

_“What, Freddie?” George asked._

_“Titania used to be Harry Potter.”_

_“Yes…” George frowned at his twin._

_“ **I’m** supposed to marry the girl who used to be **Harry Potter** …?” Fred whispered._

_“And that’ why we told you today.” Paddy said. “Just in case you want to change your mind.”_

**_“NO!”_ ** _Fred squawked. “ **Mine!** No take-backs.”_

_“Looks like you’re marrying the girl who used to be Harry Potter.” George snickered._

  
“Looks like people have learned to keep their mouths shut.” Lupin leant around Flitwick and told Snape.

“I should hope so.” Snape replied. “They’ve certainly had enough lessons.”

“Most of them are Ravenclaws, they tend to be slow to learn unless it’s written down somewhere.” Flitwick commented quietly.

“It doesn’t seem to matter what house they’re in.” Snape snorted. “They’re all dunderheads.”

“They’re children.” Lupin chided.

“Exactly. Dunderheads.” Snape repeated.

“Oh, be quiet, you two.” Flitwick muttered. “No arguing in front of the students.”

“Yes, Professor.” The two gave him innocent looks, drawing looks of disbelief from some of the students.

“Fred!” Titania squealed, as she exited the school’s gates, ignoring the amused look that she drew from McGonagall.

“Kitten.” Fred gave her a large smile and opened his arms, ready to catch her when she leapt just a few feet in front of him. The two spun in a circle as the redhead struggled to stay on his feet on the slippery grass.

“Hello, George.” Titania looked over Fred’s shoulder and waved at his twin.

“Hey there.’ George grinned. “You look happy.”

“Of course, I am, George.” Titania grinned. “I get to spend the day with you two.”

“Well…” George her a cheeky grin.

“What?”

“Chirp chirrup trrll.” Came from behind George and Luna.

 ** _“Helios!?”_** Titania turned from Fred to the griffin cub. “Oh, hello, my sweet. Did you come to visit?” She knelt beside the half-grown cub and scruffled her fingers through his feathers before looking up at the twins. “You brought Helios to visit?” Her smile was bright and happy.

“We remember how stressful last year was.” Fred started.

“So, we figured to make it…” George took up the comment.

“…a little more pleasant.” Fred knelt and let his arm sit around her shoulders.

“Mr’s Weasley?” Professor Sprout’s voice broke through their lack of attention. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, really, Professor.” George replied, plastering an innocent expression on his face.

“We just thought that Titania could use a little pick-me-up.” Fred added, wearing a matching expression.

“Professor?” Titania looked over her shoulder. “Would you like to meet Helios?”

“Who or what is Helios?” Professor Sprout asked. “Beyond being a Greek Titan, that is.”

“Helios is the second of my familiars.” Titania answered and moved to one side, allowing the Professor to see the half-grown cub.

“That’s a griffin!” The Herbology Professor squawked. “Get away from it!” She started to move towards the group, only to find herself facing a series of wands. “What are you doing? Move!”

“What is going on here?” McGonagall’s stern voice cut into Sprout’s near-panicked state.

“There’s a griffin!” She pointed at the two students and the two former-students.

“Griffin?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“It’s only Helios, Professor McGonagall.” Titania answered.

“Helios? Miss Grimmley, did you have permission to bring your second familiar to the school?” McGonagall wanted to know.

“Second familiar? What about the **_griffin?”_** Sprout demanded.

“Pomona… the griffin **_is_** Miss Grimmley second familiar.” McGonagall said tiredly.

“Second… What?!” Sprout screeched. “Who let her bond with one of them?”

“Her father, the Headmaster, Amos Diggory and Master Scamander all verified the bond.” McGonagall answered. “Newt is monitoring the cub’s development closely, something to do with being a familiar can speed up the wee beastie’s maturation.” She paused. “I think I missed part of that conversation, however.”

“At least I didn’t ask if I could have him stay with me at school.” Titania grinned.

“For which, I am most grateful, Miss Grimmley.” McGonagall gave her a purse-mouthed smiled.

Dumbledore smiled at his staff, as they sat around the staff table in the rarely used staff room, next to the Great Hall.

“Thank you, for joining me, this afternoon.” He said. “A review of the year so far? Shall we begin with the core classes or work through all of them, alphabetically?”

“Alphabetically, if you please.” McGonagall replied and most of the staff nodded in response.

“Very well.” Dumbledore agreed. “Ancient studies. Bathsheda?”

“I’ve only three students this year, one in sixth year and two in seventh.” Babbling answered. “All are working well. Mr Pattonly will easily receive an ‘O’ in his NEWTs and plans to work towards a mastery, he’s subtly asked if I would consider him as an apprentice. Mr Horlink will do nearly as well but Miss Mitcham will have to work to do more than scrape an ‘A’. I have an appointment with her to discuss the matter, later this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Bathsheda.” Dumbledore made a note on the large pad in front of him. “Apparition. Wilkie?” He addressed Wilkie Twycross, the Ministry Instructor.

“No concerns.” The Ministry worker paused. “Actually, yes, I do have one. I seem to be missing two students, Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood. Does anyone know why?”

“They’re both underage, Wilkie.” Dumbledore answered. “Both of them started here in 1992. Technically, they should be in fifth year not seventh.”

“Oh, yes, well, that would account for it.” The wiry old man nodded. “Do they know that if they pass their NEWTs, they’re considered adults and can apply for an apparition licence, anyway?”

“I…” Dumbledore paused. “I don’t think so.” He hastily scribbled another note.

“I’ll speak to the girls.” McGonagall made her own note.

“Thank you, Minerva. Wilkie? Anything else?”

“No.” Twycross sat back.

“Thank you.” Dumbledore nodded and consulted the list of staff and their subjects. “Arithmancy. Septima?”

For the next hour each Professor gave a brief report on their classes and how the student were progressing.

“And Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood?” Dumbledore finally asked. “How are they doing?”

“Quite well, in fact.” McGonagall answered. “I’ve their class listings here, both are in the top five in all their classes. And in a couple of subjects, they’re the top two.”

“Really?” Dumbledore asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes. Miss Grimmley is first in Charms and second in Runes, while Miss Lovegood is first in Arithmancy and second in CoMC.” McGonagall explained. “Miss Grimmley has already started writing her own runic-based charms. And Miss Lovegood plans to further her education in arithmancy before undertaking an apprenticeship in CoMC in Wales.”

“Well…” Dumbledore blinked a few times. “I must say, they are extremely well organised.”

“Indeed.”

The staff looked out over the grounds and frowned.

“Who did that?” Vector asked.

“Oh, who else?” Snape sighed.

“You think the Princesses were involved?” Dumbledore asked.

“I know it.” Snape snapped. “Now, if I could just **_prove_** it.” The second sentence was nearly snarled.

“If we could prove it, they’d likely be expelled.” McGonagall said.

“But look what they did!” Snape waved a hand at the window.

McGonagall’s eyes were drawn to the streamers of ribbon that looped from tree to tree, hung from each branch and wrapped around the statues like tinsel on a Christmas tree. Lining the paths were brightly painted muggle garden gnomes, in all different shapes and sizes, in all different designs and positions, the colours a riot against the eyes. Then there were the statues themselves, randoin moving.

“This is their last year, Severus, be thankful they haven’t done worse.” Dumbledore tried to comfort the potions Master, while smiling at the students that were scurrying around the grounds, cheering every time they found an Easter Egg.

“My concern, is that we do have a couple of students that are allergic to chocolate.” Pomfrey joined the staff as they watched the grounds.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley wandered passed the massed Professors and Hermione shook her head. “Madam Pomfrey?” She quietly called to get the medi-witch’s attention. “The eggs aren’t chocolate. They’re carob. It’s a chocolate replacement and has a similar taste to chocolate but at the same time, fewer people show allergies to carob than to chocolate.”

“It’s hypo-allergenic?” Madam Pomfrey asked.

“Not completely.” Hermione replied. “If someone has a nut allergy, there’s a small chance that they might have a carob one.” She tilted her head. “I think my mother said it was one in a hundred nut allergies, show sensitivity to carob. I think...”

“Ah, thank you, Miss Granger.” Pomfrey replied. “We only have three students with nut allergies, I’ll keep an eye on them. Aren’t you going to find some for yourself?”

“No, ma'am.” Hermione smiled. “Ginny, Neville and I were up early this morning and collected up a few eggs from our common room.”

“Your common room was… decorated… too?” Pomfrey asked.

“All the common rooms were.” Snape muttered.

“How did they get into the other houses?” Dumbledore asked.

“We don’t know.” Flitwick sighed.

“When it comes to the Princesses, that seems to be the general answer.” Lupin snorted and shook his head. “We just don’t know.”

“I’ll be submitting the names for those who will be sitting their OWL and NEWT exams, later today.” Dumbledore informed his staff. “I would like confirmation that all students currently undertaking OWL and NEWT classes, are as ready for their exams as we can get them. Is anyone concerned about any student?”

“I have a concern about Mr Malcolm.” Professor Sprout said. “That second bout of spattergoit didn’t do him any favours, he's quite a way behind his classmates.”

“How determined is he to sit his OWLs with his classmates?” Dumbledore asked.

“Extremely.” Sprout replied. “Plus there’s some pressure from home.”

“Would it help if he was tutored, privately?” McGonagall asked.

“I don’t think he could manage classes and private tuition.” Sprout answered.

“No, Pomona, not in addition to… instead of.” McGonagall corrected.

“Intensive one-on-one?” Sprout asked. “Yes, that might work. It certainly wouldn’t do him any harm.”

“Then I suggest that you pull him from all his classes and I pull Miss Grimmley and Miss Lovegood from theirs and assign them as his tutors.” McGonagall suggested.

“The Princesses?” Dumbledore asked, his brows rising.

“The Princesses? They’re the Princesses?” Sprout asked.

“Yes.” Snape answered. “Hence why we haven’t caught them in a prank.”

“Oh, dear.” Sprout sighed.

“Exactly.” Snape nodded sharply.

“Why would you suggest them, Minerva?” Dumbledore dragged them back on subject.

“They’ve completed everything.” McGonagall said. “I think the only classes that they’re not bored nearly to tears in, are potions and DADA.”

“That sounds about right.” Flitwick agreed. “Both girls have completed everything I’ve given them and are working on private material in class.”

One by one the other Professors agreed with McGonagall and Flitwick.

“Severus? Remus?” Dumbledore asked.

“Luna will score well.” Snape said. “I’d be disappointed if she achieved less than an ‘O’, while Titania will likely only reach an ‘E’. She just doesn’t have same… intuition of her foster sister.”

“In DADA, I think both of them will score well.” Lupin added. “At least an ‘E’ but I wouldn’t put it passed either of them to get an ‘O’, they’ve put in a lot of work on the practicals.”

“I see.” Sprout nodded. “In that case… would you ask them, Minerva? If you’re prepared to excuse them from classes and they’re prepared to tutor Mr Malcolm, I’d be most grateful.”

“I’ll speak to them.” McGonagall assured her.

Luna sighed as she packed the last of her things into her trunk.

“Well, that’s it…” She whispered. “I wish daddy had lived long enough to see me graduate.”

“Oh, Luna.” Titania hugged her. “He’s watching, so’s your mother. You know they’re watching over you.”

“I know, but it would have been nice to have them here.” Luna gave a weak smile.

“It would.” Titania nodded. “I would have liked to have grown up with James and Lily, but I didn’t. I regret not having them in my life, but I don’t regret the choices I’ve made. I’ve made the best of what Lady Magic gave me and I’m okay with that.”

Luna tilted her head as she pondered Titania’s comments. “You know…? I think I am, too.”

“Good.” Titania shrugged. “Considering you chose Lee, I hope you’re happy about it.”

Luna laughed. “I am, he’s mine.” She tapped her wand against her trunk and shrunk it, picking it up and putting it in her satchel before continuing. “Like Fred said. ‘No take-backs’. Lee’s mine and I am his.”

“I like that phrase… ‘He’s mine and I am his’… Can I steal that?” Titania asked. “For our wedding?” She didn't remember having said almost exactly those words, to the twins, about Apollo on on the Express in 1992.

“Sure, as long as I’m your bridesmaid.”

“Of course, you are. Like I’d choose anyone else.” Titania replied indignantly.

“Will the Weasley’s be attending?”

“No.” Titania paused. “Well, maybe Mr Weasley, Bill and Charlie, but not the rest. Molly still isn’t happy having Fred and George around.”

“I don’t get it, why? They’re not their uncles.” Luna frowned.

“No, they’re not. And I’m not sure that’s got anything to do with it. Fred says Molly never really spent much time with them. She was always cooing over Ron and Ginny or boasting about Bill, Charlie and Percy’s grades.”

“And the explosions wouldn’t have helped.” Luna laughed.

The Ministry owls flew into the sunroom and alighted on the owl stand that most of Titania’s flock used, and each held out a leg for Dobby to take the letters they carried. The elf gave each bird a mouse as thanks and the birds flew away. Dobby placed the letters on the table in front of the girls’ seats and went on making breakfast.

Paddy was the first to stumble into the kitchen and its attached sunroom. He saw the letters and his eyes lit up.

“Girls!” He called. “Your results are here.”

There were a few seconds of silence, then a thunder of feet as the two girls and Myah pounded down from upstairs.

“How did they go?” Myah demanded.

“I don’t know, I didn’t open them.” Paddy replied as Titania and Luna ripped the letters open.

“Ooh…” Luna exclaimed.

“Wow…” Titania gasped.

“Well?” Myah rapped her knuckles on the table.

“Nine ‘O’s’ and one ‘E’. I was right, I flubbed a question in potions.” Titania shrugged.

“Luna?” Myah asked.

“Straight ‘O’s’ all across the board.” Luna beamed at Titania. “We did it.”

“We did.” Titania reached for her best friend and the two danced around the kitchen, laughing and waving the parchments in the air.

“Alright, alright, settle down.” Paddy laughed with them but stayed in his seat.

“What’s next for the Princesses?” Myah asked.

“I have a couple of weeks off.” Titania poured herself a cup of tea. “Then I have a month of intensive charms work with Professor Flitwick, followed by six months with Madam Lofter for runes, a couple more weeks off and then six months with Professor Flitwick. He thinks that by then I should be ready for my Journeyman’s exams in charms. I don’t think I’ll be going any further than Journeyman, at least for a while.”

“I have a couple of weeks and I start with Madam Corey and Master Lindquist.” Luna added. “I’ll be doing one week with Madam Corey followed by one week with Master Lindquist. Just nine ‘til six, I get to come home each night.”

“Oh, same here.” Titania added.

“What about the boys?” Myah asked.

“Well, they’re still working on getting the shop up and going.” Luna said.

“They really want it ready for the school rush, in August.” Titania added. “So, Luna and I figured we would give them a hand for a bit. We still want to work on our own stuff, but they need help more than us.”

“What about you two?” Luna asked.

“We’ve got two main harvests between now and September.” Myah said.

“I want to add a few more plants.” Paddy said. “And Severus is encouraging me to sit my herbology mastery exams. It would be very beneficial when it comes to selling our ingredients.”

“Aunt Myah?” Titania asked.

“No, nothing more for me.” Myah shook her head. “I’m not ready for more than that.”

“Moony asked her to dinner.” Paddy dobbed her in.

“Moony?” Titania asked. “Really? Are you going?”

“He’s nice.” Luna added.

“Yes, I went.” Myah sighed. “It was… good…” She looked at her hands. “I… We…”

“What about Tonks and Teddy?” Titania asked hesitantly.

“Tonks has already joined the DMLE and has applied to the exchange program Paddy answered. “She’ll be going to America and be working with MACUSA Aurors for two years, followed by France, Brazil, New Zealand and Australia. Andi’s moaning that it’s likely to be ten years before Dora’s home for more than a week.”

“Right.” Titania nodded. “Yeah, that’s…”

“And there’s also the reason that she’s applied…” Myah added.

“Sorry?” Titania frowned. “The reason? What’s that?”

“Dora was hit with some nasty curses on her last raid.” Paddy grimaced. “It’s why she’s been on desk duty for the last couple of months.” 

“And…?” Titania’s frowned darkened.

“One of the curses was an infertility curse.” Paddy explained. “The DMLE requested help from Gringotts and Bill and his team were called in. He thinks they’ve got it, but he said it was particularly nasty and Dora would need a lot of potions and a heck of a lot of luck to get pregnant. The healers have told her, she’d be better planning on a career.”

“Poor Tonks.” Luna whispered.

“I told her to not rule it out.” Paddy said. “I reminded her that I… supposedly… am a single father of a beautiful young woman, I reminded her that I’m gay and that the muggles have surrogacy down to a fine art. And she has the necessary muggle Id, if she wants to go that way.”

“What did she say?” Luna asked.

“It was something to think about but not for years, yet, if ever.” Paddy replied. “She also said that she felt that kids weren’t really for her but if that changed, she’d keep it in mind.”

“So, the likelihood of Teddy is… slim?” Titania asked.

“Yeah…” Myah sighed. “He didn’t live to see his first birthday, Titania. He and Andi were hit the week after Harry went into the veil.”

Titania made a sad whimpering sound.

“St. Mungo's called me, I was listed as his godmother. I held him while he took his last breaths.” Myah let her tears fall. “I won’t ever forget him but this is a different world. Some things are similar but some are very different.”

“Moony isn’t one of those.” Paddy shook his head.

“No, he’s not and that’s probably why I feel so comfortable with him.” Myah said. “He feels familiar, in a good way.”

“And that’s why you said ‘yes’, when he asked you out?” Luna asked.

“It is.” Myah nodded.

“Good.” Titania smiled. “Tea?” She held up the teapot.


	25. Chapter 25

_“So, the likelihood of Teddy is… slim?” Titania asked._

_“Yeah…” Myah sighed. “He didn’t live to see his first birthday, Titania. He and Andi were hit the week after Harry went into the veil.”_

_Titania made a sad whimpering sound._

_“St. Mungo's called me, I was listed as his godmother. I held him while he took his last breaths.” Myah let her tears fall. “I won’t ever forget him but this is a different world. Some things are similar but some are very different.”_

_“Moony isn’t one of those.” Paddy shook his head._

_“No, he’s not and that’s probably why I feel so comfortable with him.” Myah said. “He feels familiar, in a good way.”_

_“And that’s why you said ‘yes’, when he asked you out?” Luna asked._

_“It is.” Myah nodded._

_“Good.” Titania smiled. “Tea?” She held up the teapot._

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Paddy asked the twins.

“We’ve thought it through, Uncle Paddy.”

“And we asked dad and Uncle Gareth.” The twins spoke one after the other.

“There’s so many Weasley’s.”

“Not just our brothers, but our cousins, too.”

“And Ginny is the only girl.”

“All the rest are boys.”

“So, we felt that doing this?”

“The Weasley’s aren’t really losing out.”

“Is that why you didn’t use your names in the shop’s title?” Paddy asked.

“It is.” The two young wizards spoke together.

“Taking our surname is a big thing, both of you taking our name is… It’s huge, boys.” Paddy held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to try and talk you out of it. I just want to know that you both understand what you’re doing.”

“We do.” George said.

“You’ll be a Grimmley.” Paddy went on. “You don’t get another chance. The Ministry and Lady Magic will only give you one chance. Without taking adoption or conversion potions, changing your name is a big thing.”

“We know.” Fred said. “Uncle Gareth gave us the rundown.”

“There’s no going back.” Paddy warned.

“We don’t want to go back.” George replied.

“We talked it through and… we want this.” Fred added.

“Uncle Paddy…” George felt the need to explain. “Mum and dad raised us but while we knew that they loved us, they had so many of us that showing it was hard. Mum… struggled. Whether it was that we looked like Uncle Gideon and Uncle Fabian or not, mum couldn’t look at us, not for long. If she did, she got angry and loud and we usually ended up with a sore bum. Whether we’d done something wrong or not.”

“And dad loved us but he was always at work, he had to be to earn enough to feed and clothe us all. But that meant that we didn’t see him much. He was a distant father. Maybe that was different on the world you came from, maybe not.” Fred went on.

“But that’s how we feel that he is here.” George said. “We love him, don’t mistake that, and regardless of what surname we have he’ll still be our father.”

“It also might make it easier on mum if we have a different name, too.” Fred added. “It might be enough to create a distance that she can see over.”

“It might…” Paddy said.

“Anyway, we can’t do it yet.” George reminded him. “Gringotts require six-months’ notice, before they’ll let us do the ritual and as Fred Titania are betrothed, they insist that Fred’s ritual happen on the same day that he and Titania marry.”

“Which won’t happen until she’s eighteen.” Fred added. “I’d prefer to wait and know that I’m not pushing her into something she doesn’t want.”

“And I thank you for that, Fred.” Paddy nodded to the young wizard. “Alright, I’ll approve it, but you get to tell kitten.”

“Aw bollocks…” Fred whined.

“Hi, Luna. Hi Titania.” Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley greeted the two blond witches.

“Hermione, Ginny, hello.” Titania gave them a smile and a wave from the ceiling of Wee Wizarding Wheezes, where she floated on a broom, attaching streamers to the ceiling.

“Hello, Hermione, Ginny.” Luna waved at them as she directed the other ends of the streamers to the tops of the shelves.

“How are your apprenticeships going?” Hermione asked. “Aren’t you doing two at the same time?” She directed the question at Luna.

“Yes, I am and it’s going quite well, thank you.” Luna replied. “Master Lindquist is quite pleased that I’m working with Madam Corey at the same time, it’s opened up a possible new avenue for study, but he’s decided that he’ll investigate that once I finish my time with him.”

“And you Titania?” Ginny asked. While the three girls might have started Hogwarts in the same year and been in the same house, they had not been particularly close, but Titania was betrothed to her brother and she felt she should get to know the girl a little better.

“Yeah, good.” Titania let the broom float down to the floor. “I’ve finished with Madam Lofter, she’d signed off on my Runes’ Journeyman’s certification and is encouraging me to go for my mastery, but I haven’t decided when, yet.”

“Weren’t you studying with Professor Flitwick, too?” Padma and Padma Patil joined them. “Oh, and hi Titania, Luna.” The pair hastily added.

“Hello Padma, Parvati.” Luna said, opening a new box of streamers.

“Hi, Parvati. Hi, Padma.” Titania gave a quick smile. “Yes, I’m still with Professor Flitwick, at least for this summer. He can’t take an apprentice while he’s teaching, which is a bit disappointing, but Professor Dumbledore found a way around it, I can apprentice with Professor Flitwick but only outside the schoolyear. Hence, my summers are spent in our converted barn with Professor Flitwick, studying charms.”

“Ooh, better you than me.” Parvati laughed. “I barely scraped an ‘E’ on my OWLs.”

“Eh, it’s not so bad.” Titania shrugged. “You’re more interested in divination, right?” Parvati nodded. “Think about being able to have time with a Seer outside of school.”

“Ooh… oh, that would be… wonderful…” Parvati breathed.

“See?” Titania laughed. “That’s kinda how I feel about getting time with Professor Flitwick.”

“Oh, I see.” Parvati nodded. “Okay, well, I’m happy for you, then.”

“Will you be going for your mastery in charms, too?” Hermione asked.

“I’m thinking about it.” Titania grimaced. “I kinda want to but at the same time, I just want to get on with my shop.”

“Shop?” Padma asked.

“What will you be selling?” Ginny asked.

“Mostly the wizarding equivalent to muggle stuff.” Titania answered. “Personal Updateable Portfolios as opposed to muggle resumé folios, quill-grips as opposed to dip-pens, self-inking quills as opposed to cartridge pens, scroll holders, metal and timber rulers, mechanical pencils, student compendiums, student diaries. That sort of thing… Or that’s what I’ve got, so far.”

“Oh, my.” Hermione’s eyes lit up. “When do you think you’ll be opening?”

“Not for a while yet.” Titania shrugged. “I have some stock, but I’m still struggling with the rune-work on a few things. Professor Flitwick is helping me work my way through my list of items. I’ll get there.”

“Would you be prepared to sell, mail order?” Hermione asked. “It’s just… Some of that sounds so good.”

“Sure.” Titania replied. “I can send you a list or… I can meet you somewhere and show you some samples?”

“Oh, samples, please.” Padma said. “And can I join you?”

“Sure.”

“May I tell a few others?” Padma asked. “Most of my fellow Ravenclaws will be interested and I know a couple of snakes that would be, too.”

“Are you likely to have a problem with the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department?” Hermione asked.

“Oh, no.” Titania laughed. “All of my stuff is completely wizarding, it just does the same job. Like muggles have pens, that have an ink cartridge in them, change the cartridge to change the colour. Right? Well, I have quill-grips with removable or replaceable inkwells. It does the same job but is entirely wizarding.”

“Okay.” Hermione nodded. “When is a good time? If I reserve a parlour at the Leaky Cauldron, is that okay with you?”

“Sure.” Titania shrugged. “How does Monday, next week sound? I’ll owl both of you a list of what I have ready to sell and prices, just so you have an idea.”

“That would be great.” Padma smiled.

“Okay.” Paddy looked at his daughter. “Walk me through this. Through each product. What’ve you got?”

“Right.” Titania gave her father a smile. “First, we have, these… Personal, updatable document portfolios.” She held up what looked to be a notebook.

“Explain them, please.” Paddy sat back and waited.

“It appears to be a book, something like a notebook.” Titania answered. “But… Look inside.” She laid the book on the desk in front of Paddy and opened it. “These are mock-up documents, not genuine at all. But for demonstration purposes, they’ll work fine.”

“And how does it work?”

“Patented charm and rune work.” Titania replied. “How to use it? That’s a different cauldron of nifflers.” She laid a pile of clearly fake documents on the desk and a book. “The documents are added to the folio by placing them inside it and activating a rune sequence hidden by an embossed image on the cover.” She showed him as she spoke. “This sequence sorts the documents by date and divides them into calendar years, with each year having its own subtitle page.” She opened the folio and placed it in front of Paddy. “Docs can be added at any time, by placing them anywhere within the folio and activating it again. Docs can also be removed, there’s two different ways to do that. One, just tear them out, or two, there’s a deactivation sequence on the back, here.” She turned the folio over and point ed it out. “There’s also shrink, enlarge, lock and unlock runes on the front cover.” Each was pointed out and demonstrated. “Not hard to use, even a pureblood could manage it.”

“Kitten, I think the purebloods are going to be very interested in this.” Paddy smiled as he nodded.

“They will, but the muggleborns and muggle-raised are going to be the biggest buyers, after all muggles have been using resumé folios for decades.” Titania grinned.

“Alright next product.”

“Quill-grips.” Titania held up a plain silver quill-grip holding a pretty feather. “It’s variant of a fountain pen that allows the user to change the feathers of the quill pen without changing the grip.”

“Uh?”

“The user can have one grip and a dozen feathers.” Titania explained. “Then it’s simply a case of removing and replacing the feathers for a new look. No more broken quills, no more blunt tips. Nibs are interchangeable, so you can have an all-purpose nib for notes and letters but a finer nib for more formal writing.” Each step was demonstrated and examples shown.

“Excellent. Next?”

“Pretty much the same.” Titania held up a slightly different quill-grip. “But this one has an enclosed inkwell.” She showed him the tiny little phial-shaped inkwell that pulled from the grip. “Buyers can change out the inkwells, allowing them to change ink colours. Each inkwell is charmed to have an enlarged capacity, but without the appropriate switching charm, which I wrote and am currently the only person to know the chant for, inkwells can’t be refilled. Bring them back to me and I’ll refill them or give a small refund or credit on another inkwell.”

“And how do you change the feathers?”

“Buyer’s get a blank grip, no feather attached, but have their choice of a number of different feathers, depending on the grip that they buy. A feather is simply inserted into the grip, like so.” She showed how. “And the feather is screwed into place, like so. To remove simply unscrew the feather and replace with a different one.”

“Excellent.” Paddy beamed at Titania.

“I also plan on selling a whole lot of other stuff, but rulers, mechanical pencil, diaries and compendiums are fairly self-explanatory. There’s also scroll holders and a few other things, but I haven’t finalised all the designs, yet.”

“And where will you sell them?”

“I spoke to Scribulus about what I have and he wasn’t concerned that I was going to compete with him. He basically laughed and told me to ‘have at it’, competition is always good for business. When said I was thinking about getting a stall, he said, I’d get more custom from the purebloods if I had a storefront, even if it was a small one. Fred and George said much the same, so I’ve bought a small shop in Diagon Alley. It’s next door to the boys but opens out the on the Technic Alley side. It’s a tiny window front that opens out into a reasonable size, about four hundred square feet. Plenty big enough for me.”

“When will you open?” Paddy asked.

“Not for a while, yet.” Titania answered. “I have a meeting with some students next week, I ran into Hermione, Ginny and a couple of others, they want me to show them my stuff and maybe sell some of what I have ready.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Hermione’s reserving a parlour at the Cauldron next Monday.”

“It’ll be interesting to see how much you sell.” Paddy rocked his head. “Hermione did like her quills.”


	26. Chapter 26

_“When will you open?” Paddy asked._

_“Not for a while, yet.” Titania answered. “I have a meeting with some students next week, I ran into Hermione, Ginny and a couple of others, they want me to show them my stuff and maybe sell some of what I have ready.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah, Hermione’s reserving a parlour at the Cauldron next Monday.”_

_“It’ll be interesting to see how much you sell.” Paddy rocked his head. “Hermione did like her quills.”_

Paddy and Myah stood in the door of the barn and watched as Titania flicked two wands around and things changed from scraps of wood, metal, leather, card, glass and parchment and became a myriad of things. From rulers to mechanical pencils and tiny inkwells, from quill-grips to notebooks, from compendiums to portfolios and pretty much everything in between.

“And I thought Harry was gifted at DADA…” Myah whispered.

“I know what you mean.” Paddy whispered back. “That’s just… mind-blowing.”

“How does she do it?” Myah asked Flitwick, as the half-goblin joined them.

“I have _**no**_ idea.” He replied. “She took my lessons and flew with them. Do you know? She passed her Mastery with less than a year of tuition. The last to do that was… Minerva, I believe.”

“Not you?” Myah asked.

“Oh, no, I dragged it out for nearly five years before I sat my exams.” Flitwick disagreed.

“Only five years?” Paddy replied sarcastically, knowing that a typical apprentice took ten years before being ready to undertake their Mastery exams.

“I’m good, but not _**that**_ good.” Flitwick nodded in Titania’s direction. “And you know the best thing about what she’s doing?”

“What” Myah asked.

“While she’s using magic to place everything and hold it in place, temporarily, she’s still using glues and sealants to put things together. Nothing will come undone with a _finite_ or _finite incantatum_.”

“It wouldn’t anyway.” Titania wandered over to stand between her father and Flitwick. “I use passphrase protected charms.”

“Pass- _phrase_?” Myah asked.

“Passphrase.” Titania nodded. “A password is easier to break. A phrase, however…? That’s much harder, particularly as I use nonsense phrases. The likelihood of someone saying one of my phrases and adding a _finite_ to it pretty small.”

“That would make it easier to use magic to hold things together.” Paddy nodded in response.

“No, Da.” Titania shook her head. “The passphrases are just for the charm-work. All my stuff is held together physically, not magically.”

“That would make sense, if you’re selling to muggleborns and muggle-raised.” Myah said.

“That sounds about right.” Paddy nodded.

“So, will you have enough stock to open?” Myah asked. “Actually…? When _**are**_ you going to open?”

“May, just before the holidays.” Titania said. “I want it to be a quiet opening, just open the door one morning and leave it at that.”

“Like you’re any other business in the Alley.” Flitwick nodded. “Yes, I can see that working.”

“Have you decided on a name, yet?” Paddy asked. “You were up in the air, last week.”

“Yep.” The ‘P’ popped. “The Desk Top. That’s where everything I sell, goes.”

“The Desk Top.” Paddy rolled the name around in his mind. “Yeah, that works.”

“It does but I’ve still a long way to go before I’ve enough stock for the shop.” Titania looked over her shoulder.

“We’ll let you get back to it, then.” Flitwick nodded to the interior of the barn.

“Thanks, I’ll be done in an hour or so, at least for today.” Titania gave each of them a hug and headed back to the piles of materials.

The ritual chamber was spotlessly clean and nearly gleamed in the brightness given off by the _lumos_ lights that filled delicate containers.

“Very pretty.” Paddy said, sitting on one of the chairs carefully placed along one wall.

“Another one of Titania’s inventions?” McGonagall asked, seated beside him.

“Yep.” Paddy nodded. “She took a piece of broken wand and a storage crystal and linked them together, passed a _lumos_ onto it and set it with a rune sequence. It can be _nox_ -ed and relit without registering on the Ministry’s detection network, as the crystal supplies the magical energy not the user.”

“I wouldn’t have thought the Ministry would like that.” McGonagall sighed.

“They loved it.” Paddy snorted. “So far? They’re her buyer, nearly three hundred desk lamps and two hundred ceiling lamps. Gringotts are the next best customers.”

“And how long do they last?”

“They need to be recharged after a thousand uses.” Paddy said.

“A thousand?” McGonagall asked.

“She didn’t want to spend all her time recharging them, as far as she’s concerned, the shop is more important. She’s hoping that by the time she needs to start taking time out to recharge things, she’ll have been able to hire a couple of students to do it for her.” Paddy shrugged.

“Does she have anyone in mind?”

“She’s aiming for a couple of muggle-raised lads, the Cravey brothers?” Paddy said the name with a questioning grimace.

“Creevey.” McGonagall corrected. “Why them?”

“That’s it. Creevey.” Paddy snapped his fingers. “And them, because a lot of muggleborns are buying them and taking them home. It lets their families see and use something magical. The brothers are muggle-raised, so moving in the muggle world is easy for them, but they’re also wizards, so moving in the magical world is reasonably easy for them, too.”

“But they’re muggleborns.” McGonagall reminded him. “The purebloods won’t be very accepting of them.”

“Actually, they’re not… _**technically**_ … muggleborns.” Paddy grimaced again. “Apparently their father is a squib from a pureblood family.”

“Really?” McGonagall blinked in surprise. “Which one?”

“Moody.” Paddy waited for McGonagall to stop spluttering before he went on. “He’s Mad-Eye’s younger brother, the head of family sent him to the family of a muggleborn that he’d shared a dorm with at Hogwarts, when the lad didn’t get his letter. The Creevey brothers had no idea and it wasn’t until Titania and Luna suggested an inheritance test at Gringotts that they found out. Things are still a bit tentative, you know what Mad-Eye’s like, with his ‘constant vigilance’ paranoia.” Paddy shook his head in amusement.

“I most certainly do.” McGonagall sighed. “Are you ready for this?”

“I’m sorry the twins were forced into a position where this became reasonable.” Paddy said. “But them taking our name doesn’t worry me in the slightest.”

“No, Paddy, I meant Titania getting married.” McGonagall shook her head.

“No problems, there.” Paddy gave her a smile. “I’m not losing my daughter, I’m gaining a son.” He tilted his head. “Or should that be sons? With Fred and George being twins?”

“Does it matter?” Arthur asked as he sat on McGonagall’s other side.

“No, I suppose not.” McGonagall gave a small smile.

“Here they come.” Myah nodded towards the door on the far side of the chamber, where Luna and George lead Titania and Fred into the chamber. The betrothed couple stepped forward while Luna and George joined those already seated.

“Last chance to change your mind, Mr’s Weasley.” A heavily robed goblin said.

“No, thanks.” Fred said. “I want this.

“Same here.” George added. “No take-backs.”

“Very well.” The goblin nodded. “We shall start with the ritual to bond Mr Fredrick Weasley with Miss Titania Grimmley, adding in Mr Weasley’s permanent name change to Grimmley. This will be followed by Mr George Weasley’s name change, also to Grimmley.” The goblin crossed to a set of circles etched into the stone floor. “Titania Dorea Grimmley, if you would stand in the silver-lit circle.” Titania smiled at Fred and went where the goblin directed. “Fredrick Gideon Weasley, please stand in the gold-lit circle.” Once Fred entered the circle, the goblin continued. “We shall now begin. Before family you stand, ready to be bound by magic…” The goblin began the first ritual.

Snape and Lupin met near the table holding gifts for the newlyweds, each laying an envelope on the table.

“They did it.” Lupin sighed.

“You can’t say they didn’t warn you it was coming.” Snape screwed up his mouth.

“No, I suppose not.” Lupin huffed.

“Miss Lovegood and Mr Jordan are next.” Snape reminded him.

“Then George and Miss Johnson, if I recollect.” McGonagall said as she laid her own envelope on the table. “Will you be returning to Hogwarts this coming year Severus?”

“I will.” Snape nodded. “My contract is until June 2000. By which time, Eliza Mitcham will, hopefully, have completed her Potions Mastery. I would recommend her as my replacement.”

“And if she’s not finished?”

“That will be something to discuss at a later date, Minerva.” Snape replied. “Let’s not put nifflers before an open vault.”

“True.” McGonagall nodded. “I shall certainly encourage Albus to take your thoughts into consideration.”

“Do you ever plan on telling anyone else?” Fred asked his wife as they walked the path from their new home’s gate to the front door.

“No, we don’t.” Titania replied, gasping as Fred swung her up into his arms, her arms darting up to clasp his shoulders. “We talked about this, Fred. You were there.”

“I was more interested in you, not who you were going to tell.” Fred chuckled, his wand flicked and the cottage’s front door opened.

“Oh, you…” Titania laughed.

“Welcome to our home, Mrs Grimmley.” Fred stepped into the cottage, letting the door swing shut behind him.

“Thank you, Mr Grimmley.” She pulled herself closer and kissed his cheek.

“Shall we?” He gestured to the stairs.

Her smile grew. “Lets.”

“I have a confession to make…” Fred lowered his wife’s feet to the floor.

“Oh, and what would that be, husband of mine?”

“The morning after you told us about Harry…”

“What about it?” Titania could see that Fred was nervous.

“I woke up and… well… I remembered…” He whispered.

“Remembered what?”

“It was Flint’s bitch of a mother that hit me with a heart stopper.” Titania froze, her eyes wide. “We were outside the Room, Percy and me. He told Thicknesse that he resigned, then a blasting curse hit the wall and it exploded, I was stunned for a moment and that’s when Mrs Flint got me.”

“Fred…?” Titania whispered, shocked.

“Yeah… That’s how I felt, too.” Fred sighed.

“What did you tell Mad-Eye when he said the potion tasted like goblin piss?” Was this really the Fred from Titania, Paddy and Myah’s original world.

“Have a lot of experience with that, do you, Mad-Eye?” Fred obediently replied.

“Oh, Fred! How much do you remember?” Titania squealed flinging her arms around his neck, before pausing and pulling back. “But… that was a year ago? Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

“Well, kitten, it’s quite simple.” Fred smirked. “No matter which way you look at it, you’re mine. I wasn’t going to say anything until I had you locked in with a [_colloportus_](locking%20charm), now was I? No take-backs.”

“Fred!” Titania wacked him on the shoulder and taking a hold of his robes pulled his head down to meet hers.

“You are mine and I am yours.” She whispered. “Everyone else can go chase Peeves.” She pressed her lips to his.

Fred slowly pulled back and looked at her, his smile bright. “I am your, you are mine.” He repeated, his arms sliding around her waist. “That bed’s calling us.”

“Then we should answer.” Titania touched lips to his neck, feeling his groan through the chest pressing against hers.

Dobby beamed as he laid platter after platter on the table. His family had grown and would grow more.

“Morning, Dobby.” Paddy smiled as he saw his daughter and son-in-law wandering across the yard towards the kitchen. “And good morning to you, too.” He called.

“Morning, Da.” Titania’s smile was bright and cheery.

“I didn’t expect you two to surface for a few more days.” Paddy said as he poured milk into his tea.

“We thought about it but we have news.” Titania replied.

“Already?” Paddy exclaimed, looking alarmed.

“No, Da, not _**that**_ so of news.” Titania laughed. “We’re not planning on kids for a few years, yet.”

“Oh, thank heavens.” Paddy sighed in relief before frowning. “Then what sort of news?”

“The sort where we get everyone here, especially George and Myah.” Titania answered.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Paddy whined.

“Nah, not so bad.” Fred said as he sat down and pulled Titania down onto his lap.

Noises were heard from the front of the cottage.

“That will be the others.” Titania guessed.

“Morning all.” Lee ushered Luna to a seat before taking one for himself.

“Hi.” George bounded into the sunroom and dropped into a seat beside Fred and Titania. “You’re out early, something we should know?”

“Oh, yeah…” Fred smirked.

While Fred and George bickered, Myah and Remus Lupin entered, quietly taking seats and waiting for Fred and Titania to finish greeting the rest of the family.

“Good morning.” Snape wove his way around the table taking a seat beside Paddy. “To what do we owe the early morning summons?”

Fred and Titania looked at each other, having a silent conversation. Titania huffed but began to speak.

“Fred remembers.” She said. “He’s not exactly the Fred from our world but he has that Fred’s memories.”

“Or at least where things differ.” Fred added. “I mean I remember all of this life, but there’s other memories in there, too. Not strong but there. Almost like... the echo of a memory left bihind, when you take a memory strand out for pensieve viewing.”

“Whoa…” George whispered.

“Yeah.” Fred sighed.

“So…?” George quirked an eyebrow, asking a question that only Fred would understand.

“No, not really. I’m happy with the way things turned out.”

“Even though…?” Another half-finished question from George.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Like I said before. No take-backs.” Fred spread his hands in a warding-off gesture.

“Okay.” George shrugged. “No changes, then.”

“Nope, all good.”

“Is that going to affect your plans for the future, Titania?” Myah looked from Fred and George to Titania.

“No. I knew months, years, ago that Fred and I were going to do this. Him remembering doesn’t change anything for me.” Titania answered.

“Fred? You saw Harry and Ginny together, does that change how you feel about Titania?” Myah asked.

“No, of course not.” Fred frowned. “Titania isn’t Harry. Harry might have become Titania but they’re very definitely two different people. Not that it really matters, I loved Harry, too, more than enough to let him and Ginny be. If that was what Harry wanted, I was okay with that. Would I have fought anyone else? Hell yes! But Harry wanted Ginny. And now? Titania wants me. I have no regrets.”

“Neither do I.” Titania said. “As Harry… I knew that the public wouldn’t have approved of me being into blokes.”

“They wouldn’t have.” Myah agreed.

“Don’t get me wrong, I cared about Ginny, but girls weren’t really my first choice.”

“So… Being with Fred is… better?” Lee asked.

“Being with Fred is… perfect…” Titania blushed and ducked her head.

“So…?” Paddy tilted his head. “Now what?”

“Nothing.” Titania answered. “We’ve done everything that we had to, now we just… live. Take every day as is comes. This is our life and we get to live it how we want. Do what we want. We don’t answer to anyone, not anymore.”

“True.” Remus nodded.

“To new lives.” George held up his teacup.

“To new lives.” They cheered.


End file.
